Mr. Speaker, a couple of months ago we had an emergency debate on Syria. I rose in the House and said that there was a letter I had sent to the minister regarding matching donations dollar for dollar. The parliamentary secretary at the time, as well as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other members were jumping up and down saying, “Table the letter”. Unfortunately I was not allowed to table the letter, as some members would not allow me to table it.
However, since then we have written to the minister, clearly, publicly, asking the government to work with the Canadian-Syrian diaspora to match, dollar for dollar, the money they raise. They have raised quite a few million dollars.
What has changed from the time they were jumping up and down saying, “Show us the letter”, to when the letter went public? Why are they not, right now, moving forward on matching what the community has raised dollar for dollar, and making sure that they address that issue? That is what I would like to know from the parliamentary secretary.