Debates of Nov. 20th, 2013

Crisis in the Philippines

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, I think at this moment people are focused on the immediate need, although my colleague's question is an excellent one.

It is one thing to put out fires, but what we need is good fire prevention and good fire safety measures. I think that is what he is talking about.

The Filipino Canadian community is a very positive, a very caring community, a community that is very united, and people have a very strong network.

Getting past the immediate tragedy and building resilience for the future is something to which people will turn their minds. If any community can do it, I believe the Filipino Canadian community can, and perhaps we can learn some lessons that will apply to other situations of similar urgency.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development]

Mr. Chair, I rise in the House this evening to speak to our government's efficient and successful response to Typhoon Haiyan.

Before I begin, however, I would like to offer my condolences to all those who have been affected by this disaster. They do remain in my thoughts and prayers.

The images we are seeing on a daily basis and the stories of the victims as well as those of their families here in Canada are heart wrenching. The destruction of lives, livelihoods and infrastructure is staggering. General estimates are that the number of those affected is between 10 million and 13 million people in nine regions and that nearly 40% of those affected are from central Visayas.

The UN estimates that some 2.5 million people are in dire need of food assistance. Also, at least 5.1 million workers across the affected areas have lost their livelihoods. As members can see, this is a truly serious situation, and this government has stepped up.

Canada has been standing with the Philippine people from day one of this terrible tragedy. In fact, even before it hit, our government realized the severity and dangers the typhoon posed. Our government reacted pre-emptively to ensure that relief operations would be ready to go as soon as possible.

We allocated $30,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help them prepare their relief operations. On the day the storm made landfall, November 9, our Canadian government provided $5 million in support for the provision of emergency shelter, water, food and other essential services. On November 10, our government committed itself further to relief efforts when the hon. Minister of International Development announced the Typhoon Haiyan relief fund.

This fund will match the eligible donations Canadians make to registered Canadian charities over a four-week period, and I would just like to correct the record: it is from November 9 to December 9, 2013.

On November 18, the right hon. Prime Minister announced that Canada would contribute $15 million to aid efforts. Now today, the hon. Minister of International Development announced further support of needed supplies that will come from DFATD's emergency stockpile.

This means the contribution of the Government of Canada is the fourth largest in the world to the relief effort. Canada's contribution will increase even further when the matching fund closes. It is encouraging that after only a few days the fund is close to $20 million.

Canadians are generous people. With nearly three weeks to go, imagine how much impact they will end up having toward helping the Filipino people.

It is not only monetary contributions that have made our government's and country's response so effective and successful. On November 13, the right hon. Prime Minister announced that our renowned disaster assistance response team, DART, would deploy to Iloilo. In Iloilo, DART has provided clean water, emergency medical aid and logistical support. The amazing work of the DART cannot be overstated.

I must also commend my colleague, the Minister of National Defence, for the outstanding job he has done in making sure the team responded effectively and continues to do so.

From the very first moment DART set foot in the Philippines, it has been instrumental and successful in providing immediate assistance in this complex humanitarian emergency. I will tell members just a few of the things that DART did yesterday.

Two DART mobile medical teams provided medical services, while another mobile medical team provided similar services in Panay. Also, engineers were clearing the road, one of the many roads they have been clearing so that aid can reach areas that were cut off. In President Roxas in the eastern Capiz province, engineers also set up a water purifier capable of providing 50,000 litres of safe drinking water a day. Since landing in the Philippines, the DART engineering team has also repaired a hospital generator, which has allowed staff to undertake critical surgical operations.

As members can see, the actions of our government and agencies are making a real impact on the ground.

However, please do not take my word alone; hear what others have said about the response and actions of our government.

A vast number of people, organizations and political parties have commended this government. The Filipino secretary of foreign affairs, Albert del Rosario, has thanked Canada for the funds that our government is contributing toward emergency relief activities, the contributions of provincial governments, the deployment of DART and the generous contributions of the Filipino Canadian community.

Yesterday, Ertharin Cousin, the executive director of the World Food Programme, said yesterday, “as of November 18, World Food Programme has scaled-up assistance and reached nearly two million people...in Leyte Province with 1,130 megatons of rice and 11 megatons of high-energy biscuits...Canada's support is essential in meeting immediate needs, so thank you once again”.

I would also like to draw attention to the fact that this was made possible because Canada is the second largest donor to the World Food Programme.

As members can see, Canada's commitment to humanitarian assistance is strong and we will continue in this regard.

Another ringing endorsement came from Hossam Elsharkawi, director of emergencies and recovery at the Red Cross. On the Power & Politics with Evan Solomon show, Mr. Elsharkawi applauded our government's response and the response and generosity of the Canadian people. He said,“This is absolutely welcome news. Canadians have been generous so far. They continue to be generous with this particular disaster and others”.

I am also happy to see that our government's contributions have also been marked by my hon. colleagues across the aisle. On November 14, the member for Davenport said, “[W]e are happy to see that DART has been deployed in the Philippines. We think this is the right move on the part of the government, and also welcome the commitment to expedite visas for those who are in the Philippines who meet the criteria that the government has put. I think that these are the right ways to go”.

On November 18, during a post-question period scrum, the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie echoed her caucus colleague by saying:

“Listen, we are pleased with the government's response, the rather quick response of the department, and today's additional announcement”.

The member for Markham—Unionville also congratulated this government on our response. He said, “I also agree with sending the helicopters there. Don't forget the Philippines is a lot of little islands. It's hard to get around. And I think the short-term response of the government is good”.

Although the House is usually the scene of highly charged party politics, it is good to see that our parties can have the same view when it comes to dealing with a natural disaster. I want to sincerely thank my colleagues for their comments and their support. It is apparent that all parties realize that we must put the safety and well-being of others before everything else, including party politics. That is what has driven our response to help our fellow human being.

This past Sunday, I attended a fundraising event in Mississauga organized by a grassroots group of Filipino Canadians. I congratulate Julius and his team of volunteers who organized a lively program of music, dance and martial arts demonstrations to keep the audience engaged. The money they raised will be given to World Vision to help the relief efforts. It was wonderful to see so many Canadians come together out of the goodness of their hearts and contribute. It showed that the response to this horrible tragedy has been a full team effort.

This government, our military and, most important, the Canadian people have shown that we all will do what we have to ensure that those affected by this tragedy get the necessary aid.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for her comments, and indeed, for making the point that this is a Canadian response and a pan-partisan response to a tragedy.

The parliamentary secretary made reference to the fact that quite often in the House it is a matter of charged party politics, and one area the two parties might have some differences on is the whole question of the core purpose of the military. I am wondering whether the experience of how well our DART teams have performed might cause us, as parliamentarians in general, to reflect on whether the whole question of emergency response and response to natural disasters is something we should consider deepening and making even more central to the very core of what our armed forces are capable of doing around the world. There would be a good deal of self-interest in that too, because we can help around the world, but we know we are also vulnerable. The more we are ready to respond to what might happen here, the more it makes sense to be developing that capacity, let us call it a specialty, around the globe.

I am wondering if there is anything in what I have said that might appeal to the government benches in terms of the future development of the armed forces.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Chair, as the member for Parkdale—High Park said earlier, this is a time right now to focus on the desperate needs of the people in the Philippines. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with those people.

I appreciate the things my colleague has said. Our DART team is second to none in the world. It has the expertise to be on the ground providing medical assistance, water, and sanitation, which is so desperately needed in times of crisis. It has been absolutely exemplary in this case. We saw the work it did in Haiti, and the people of Haiti were incredibly thankful for that contribution. The people in the Philippines are experiencing the same kind of care, concern, and compassion that our DART team takes with it when it goes. It is the ambassador for Canada in situations like this. We are very grateful for the work it does and applaud all its efforts.

We will take that under consideration and have that conversation at a later date, and I hope that my colleague will be part of that conversation.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Chair, again we keep families in the Philippines, families here, emergency workers, and military personnel in our thoughts and prayers.

We should talk about some of the main public health concerns: injuries as a result of the storm or post-flood; the lack of food, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities; food and water-borne illnesses; reproductive health, especially for pregnant women; respiratory infections associated with overcrowding; malnutrition, especially among infants and young children; mental health and psychosocial problems; and vector-borne diseases. Dengue is a real risk.

As of November 18, there is an international action plan for health. It has only been 27% funded, and I am wondering if my colleague could tell us what specifically Canada is doing on health.

I have a second question. Will the government extend the matching funds until the end of the calendar year?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Chair, I refer my hon. colleague to some of the things laid out a little earlier in this debate. We talked about $8 million in humanitarian assistance to provide emergency shelter. One of the organizations receiving funds from us is the International Federation of the Red Cross. These are people who are experts in providing medical services and supplies. We are going to continue to work with these organizations. They are the experts. We are providing the funding they need to go forward to provide the people in the Philippines with that assistance, and we will continue to do so.

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Chair, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to say how devastated we are by this tragedy. We want to offer our condolences to the Filipino people during this difficult time.

A number of our Filipino constituents have loved ones and relatives who are affected by this tragedy. We offer them our deepest sympathy. We want them to know that our hearts go out to them. We ask them to stay strong during these painful moments and to have faith that there will be brighter days.

Today our thoughts go out to the women, men and children in the Philippines who are dealing with the impact of this humanitarian tragedy. Times like these are a harsh reminder of how fragile life can be and how much wilder the elements are becoming.

I would also like us to address the fact that the people most affected by these increasingly frequent tragedies are usually the poorest people, whose modest homes are no match for violent winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods or earthquakes.

The immediate needs are enormous, and the suffering is unmistakable. In the face of such devastation, we must demonstrate our concern as well as our full solidarity and support. At this time, getting assistance to the people who need it is a huge job, but there will be much more to do in the near future in terms of planning the reconstruction and stabilizing the situation for anyone who has been displaced.

I wish to recognize the many generous acts of all Quebeckers and Canadians who have been deeply touched by this tragedy and who have shown their solidarity with the people of the Philippines by donating as much as they can.

The Canadian government is currently providing considerable assistance, but there are other ways that we could be contributing more. We need to be creative, and most importantly, we must act quickly. Canada should focus on humanitarian assistance, as well as introduce measures to bring more of the disaster victims to Canada and expedite family reunification for those who already have a family member in Canada.

In closing, there are many humanitarian organizations that are making a difference, such as the Canadian Red Cross, which has just set up a facility in the Ormoc region to meet basic medical needs. It is our duty to help and to show solidarity.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Chair, that was not really a question. We have addressed many of those issues already in talking about the contributions to the International Federation of the Red Cross, World Vision, and all of those organizations that have the expertise on the ground.

One of the things I would like to go back to is a comment made before by one my colleagues on the opposite side about issues related to the climate change. He seemed to think that Canada is not doing anything when it comes to helping some of these developing countries with these issues and preparation.

I would just like to let them know that Canada, through CIDA, the former CIDA, actually, agreed to its contribution to the Copenhagen accord, a contribution of $1.2 billion for the fast-start climate change financing commitment.

We know that our thematic priorities are food security, children and youth, and sustainable economic growth. Those are our themes for our development dollars. We know that none of those can take place without having countries prepared. The $1.2 billion Canada has contributed is going to help many of these emerging economies, many of these developing countries, prepare for these kinds of things and ensure that as we go forward, they have a plan.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Chair, before I start, I want to request that I share my time with my colleague from Winnipeg North, a riding that has one of the largest Filipino communities. I know how much my colleague is involved and how much he is helping.

That said, it is important to note that disasters have happened and will happen again, and that we as Canadians will respond in good faith. Sometimes we will respond faster than others and sometimes we will allocate more resources than other times. There have been times that the current government has responded, but it has gone there screaming and yelling, and there have been times that it has responded right away.

Let us examine those times, because it is very important to do so.

When Haiti happened, the government immediately responded. The Prime Minister went to the Red Cross and made his donation, and the cameras were following him. We were at the time of proroguing. The House of Commons was shut down.

When Haiyan happened in the Philippines, the government responded immediately. This time, we had one of the second-highest hitters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, writing his cheque when the camera was there. How appropriate. We have seen his good spirit, and the government again is going through a crisis consisting of senators Duffy, Wallin, and Brazeau.

When the earthquake in China happened in 2008, there was no response for a couple of days. We had to force the government time and again before it responded. At that point in time, overwhelmingly the massive support was happening from the Chinese community. It collected millions of dollars, bought tents that were shipped over courtesy of Air Canada, and the Red Cross transferred the money to the Chinese Red Cross. That was all done primarily through community involvement.

A couple of years ago, another typhoon hit the Philippines, and the current government did not act.

However, this time it did act, and what did it put in place? The Conservatives put in place the Liberal protocol for disasters, the protocol that the Liberal government before them had in place for years.

Let us examine that. There were four pillars to it.

One was to expedite family class immigration processing from the areas that were affected, and if anybody was in Canada, to ensure they could stay in Canada until the disaster back home was looked after.

The second was to make the DART available.

The third was to work with communities and match dollar for dollar any funding that they raised for a great length of time.

The fourth was that we would help the communities to help themselves. For any money that they raised, we would respond quickly to ensure we were able to provide a one-time CRA tax donation number so they could issue tax receipts for the money they collected.

This is being done today by the Conservatives, and we from this side agree with them that what they have done is great.

However, we heard tonight that there is no extra allocation of staff at the post in the Philippines. Immigration has absolutely no extra staff to deal with this situation. The immigration officials in the Philippines are overwhelmed. The immigration officials in the Philippines have to deal with thousands of cases. They just got off a strike a number of months ago, so not only do we overburden them, but we also do not provide any extra staff.

The other thing we do not hear is the goodwill of Christmas that would allow for the community to respond until Christmas.

I do want to express through my speech my condolences to the families of the people who have been affected. My prayers and thoughts are with them, and I join them in their fight to overcome this. On December 4, on a Wednesday night, IDRF, the International Development and Relief Foundation, will be having an event in Toronto that I will be attending.

I am looking forward to continuing this conversation. I do hope that the Conservatives will stand up and say that more staff is going out to help immigration officials and that the time will be extended until December 31 in order for us to continue to raise more money.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his kind comments at the beginning of his speech toward me personally and for his speech in its entirety, in terms of how genuine the member is when he stands to speak.

I want to ask him if would provide a comment on one of the issues that we think would be very helpful. Given the amount of fundraising taking place from coast to coast to coast in Canada, there is a need to extend the tax receipt opportunities so that Canadians can continue to contribute all the way up to the end of the year. We think this would be very helpful. I wonder if he would comment on that point.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Chair, I know the events and the amount of work that the member is doing in his constituency. I know that his office is probably one of the busiest offices right now, with the immigration cases happening out of the Philippines and that he will be able to share with us that the work that has been done.

We need to be able to extend the time until December 31. I do hope that the Prime Minister comes into this House tomorrow and says, “The 31st it is”, because at the time of Christmas, the time of the spirit of giving and receiving, Canadians will open not only their wallets but their hearts. The little children will tell their parents, “Don't buy me a gift. Let's give a contribution to the typhoon relief efforts in the Philippines”.

For the record, I do want to share with my colleague two things. One is that when the tsunami hit, we, when we were the government, immediately responded, and we had an extra 13 staff in Colombo.

When Muzaffarabad happened a year later, we responded again, and we had an extra five or six staff in Islamabad.

Going back to 2001, when the earthquake happened in Gujarat, in India, immediately the government of the day, the Liberal government, responded by saying, “We are matching dollar for dollar”, and we brought more staff into India, so there is a history here of governments of Canada doing the right thing.

I just hope that the government of the day will respond in the same way that the Liberal government responded by ensuring that we get extra staff and that we extend until December 31 all the matching efforts that the community does in co-operation with registered entities that the government recognizes.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Chair, with respect to visiting visas, student visas, and working visas held by individuals who are here in Canada today, does the member believe that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration should seriously look at giving the opportunity to have those visas virtually automatically renewed for the areas that have been affected by the typhoon?

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Chair, I really wish my colleague well with the work that is waiting for him in his riding with all the Filipinos who live in his riding. He has one of the largest Filipino communities in the country in his riding.

I think the Government of Canada should clearly state and signal that it will extend visitor visas for an indefinite amount of time until the situation back in the affected areas in the Philippines has been looked after. Anybody who is here should be given, possibly, a temporary work permit, even if they are visitors, in order for them to be able to provide for themselves and to be able to stay with loved ones here in Canada. As well, the government should make it very easy for loved ones who have been affected to visit from the Philippines and should expedite those visits. Certainly they are suffering right now from traumatic experiences.

We can sit here and talk about it, but it is not the same until we visit the areas. I happened to visite Gujarat, I happened to be in Sri Lanka right after the tsunami, I was in Muzaffarabad, I went to Banda Aceh, and I went to China. I have to tell members I will never forget the experience.

In China, there was one young lady who had been buried for close to four days. When I met her, it brought me to tears. She had exactly the same date of birth and was the same age as my youngest daughter. It was like, through my eyes, seeing my daughter. There is nothing more moving than to see somebody who is the same age as one's child who happened to go through this.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Chair, the Philippines is a beautiful country, a country that I have had the opportunity on a number of occasions to visit. The people of the Philippines are individuals one could describe as kind, loving, hard-working, caring, strong in their faith.

In just over 50 years in the province of Manitoba we have seen the individuals of Filipino heritage go from no existence to over 70,000 and that is just in the province of Manitoba, a province of 1.2 million people. Nationwide over 700,000 people are here today of Filipino heritage.

It is no wonder that when disaster occurs in the Philippines, we have such a wonderful reaction of caring attitudes and the need for us to be able to help. What is so nice to see is that the community that is relatively new over the last 50-plus years has touched lives in every aspect of our society, and as a result, Canadians as a whole are sympathetic to what we are seeing in the Philippines.

Whether it is President Aquino, or the congressmen, or the mayors, the local governors, the congress or the barangay captains, those individuals need to know that across the ocean a country known as Canada truly cares and wants to help. That is what the debate here this evening is about.

Last week a member from Etobicoke and I were talking about an emergency debate in the House. When we came back from the break we suggested we should move forward and we were very glad that we were able to come up with the compromise of having a take-note debate here this evening.

We need to demonstrate that we are listening to our communities. Our communities want us to tell the people of the Philippines that we care, that we want to be able to help in a very real and tangible way.

On my first day back I was afforded the opportunity to make a statement on behalf of my caucus and this is what I said:

...the Philippines were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Each day, the extent of the destruction becomes clearer. Thousands of lives have been lost, many more have been hurt and hundreds of thousands have lost everything.

Over 700,000 people of Filipino heritage call Canada home, and thousands more are here from the Philippines working, studying and visiting in Canada.

The tragedy in the Philippines has touched us all. Canadians care. In a meeting that I hosted with the leader of the Liberal Party and members of the Filipino community, it was made clear that Canada should continue to look at the ways beyond just donating money and providing military support to the Philippines. Speeding up immigration along with assisting the current and expiring working, visiting and student visas is important too.

We must continue to support the community after the international media moves away. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are thankful for the tireless work of aid and emergency workers who are there around the clock.

On behalf of the Liberal Party, I extend our condolences and prayers to those who have been personally affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

There were others that followed and one statement that was prior to this. Members of all political stripes have stood in their places to acknowledge the tragedy that has occurred.

Earlier today I was at the Philippine Embassy here in Ottawa and I was provided with an update. I applaud the efforts of individuals, whether they are from the embassy or the consulates, whether they are in Toronto, Winnipeg or other areas.

This is right up to date as of 6 p.m., November 20, 2013: 4,011 individuals were reported dead; 18,557 injured; and 1,602 are still missing. A total of 2,150,925 families, or 10,008,955 people were affected in 10,736 barangays, that is communities.

It has been overwhelming. The bottom line is that we want the Philippines to know that Canadians care and we are going to be there for them because we are a country that recognizes the importance of a great nation.

[Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for using some adjectives to describe the Filipino people. He described some of them as caring and giving. I have many friends and families who live in my community. I would like to add hard-working and resilient. I know this because when I was in the Philippines in the metro Manilla area, in Malate and Bicol, I got to see the people who live and work in the communities first-hand.

I join my colleagues in the House in saying mabuhay ang Pilipinas, long live the Philippines. However, I also want to say salamat to the Filipinos who are living in Canada, the Canadians of Filipino descent. We thank them. Of course, on behalf of Canadians of Filipino descent in Canada, and the almost 10,000 in my community of Scarborough—Rouge River, I want to say maraming salamat, a very big thank you to the members in the community who are coming together to raise money and awareness. We need to continue to do that. We need to continue to act now and give money to the needy communities around the affected areas.

My colleague in his speech had spoken about the need to reunite families. I wonder if he could help us to get the message out to the community members here in Canada. If they have a family member who has been identified in the affected areas how should they be alerting the officials? What should they be doing? Should they be getting in touch with their barangay captains? What should they be doing in their communities to alert Canadian officials so we can actually help them with the family reunification process?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Chair, whether it is through the Internet, going through the Cebu Canadian consulate office, or going into Manila, there are other alternatives. They should check with their family here in Canada to possibly contact the local member of Parliament. There are numerous ways.

I want to pick up the member's point in regard to resilient people. She is quite right. I have witnessed it first-hand. I have been to places, whether it is Cebu, Dumaguete, Siquijor Island, Pasig, Iligan, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Cavite, and I could go on. These are wonderful communities. There is a common thread. We talk about those traits that we believe are all good about humanity. I witnessed that first-hand in the Philippines, when I had been there after a disaster occurred. I was able to work with local officials to literally put bags of rice into the hands of children. It is a wonderful thing to see a community come together to help out. I have seen it in the past and we are witnessing it once again here.

My hat goes off to the people of the Philippines, but also to all Canadians who are doing what they can to make a difference. I suspect at the end of the day even with all this tragedy, there will be some good that will come out of it, even though it is so sad to see so much destruction take place because of this super typhoon.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Don Valley West.

It is with a heavy heart that I rise here this evening to talk about the great humanitarian tragedy that has occurred in the Philippines.

It has been well articulated so far, how many people have been killed and how many are now homeless. It has also been well enunciated, both by members on this side and on the opposite side, about the great human tragedy we have been witnessing in the Philippines. From the jaws of that great tragedy, we have seen the best of Canada. A lot of people have spoken about the great things many Canadians have been doing.

The riding of York Centre, the riding I am so fortunate to represent, is a very ethnocultural riding. We boast one of the largest Filipino communities of any riding in the country. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been working closely with the Filipino community to help alleviate much of the humanitarian crisis that has been occurring in the Philippines.

It has not stopped there. What we attempted to do last week in York Centre really is a model that should be duplicated across the country. It is a model because it exhibits what the great Canadian family stands for. We know that when one member of a family is down, it is incumbent upon and the responsibility of other members of that family to reach down and pull that other family member up. That is what we have seen in the riding of York Centre.

Let me be more specific. Last week I got on the phone and called up a number of different faith leaders in the riding of York Centre. I called different churches and synagogues. I asked the religious leaders what they were doing the following day at one o'clock. All of them had plans, but I told them what I wanted to do, which was to organize an event whereby different faith leaders would stand, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, in support of the Filipino people.

Every one of them said “I am busy, but because of what you want to do, Mark, we will be there at one o'clock. We will drop all of our plans and be there”.

What we did was organize an event. It started off as a prayer session. We had six different pastors from six different ethnic churches and a rabbi. We gathered outside of Yummy Market, which is in the heart of York Centre. Yummy Market is the central place for the Russian-speaking community. That is where they do all of their shopping. We have the largest Russian-speaking community of any riding in the country.

We had all these different faith leaders come to Yummy Market. We called up Plan Canada, one of the designated charities, where dollars will be matched dollar for dollar. We got Plan Canada involved and we got cans from it to place at the checkout counters in Yummy Market. We have been encouraging other retailers throughout the riding of York Centre to accept these cans.

What we are doing is when consumers make their purchases and they are checking out of the different retail store counters, we are asking them to deposit change into these cans. These cans will be given to Plan Canada and in turn sent over to the Philippines for humanitarian relief.

Yummy Market was the first to accept these cans. We had all these different faith leaders. We had a lot of ethnic media turn out for the event. It is so important. What that demonstrates is the best of Canada. When one member of our community is down, all members of our community come to the rescue and come to stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with all of its other members.

That is so heartwarming to see. Now we have those cans for collecting coins in dozens of retail outlets across the riding of York Centre.

As we were wrapping up the event, a woman came over to me and said, “I have a problem with your cans, Mark. I have dollar bills I want to put in, and I can only put change in”.

People want to help. People want to give. This humanitarian crisis has really demonstrated the best Canada has to offer. It demonstrates that our country is a great champion of human dignity.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Chair, it is inspiring to hear about the work people are doing. One of the first things I knew about my colleague from Winnipeg North was his admiration and respect for the Canadian Filipino community and how many times he had gone to the Philippines. We are hearing this around the House tonight.

I have two questions. First, will the government extend the matching funds until the end of the calendar year? Second, will the government grant visa extensions for students, temporary workers, and other workers from the typhoon area?

We are all showing our caring, and this is another way we can show our caring tonight.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, we have been showing our caring considerably.

The matching funds will be accepted up to December 9. Decisions will be made later on as to how we will carry on from that point, but at the moment, I would encourage all Canadians, including the hon. member, to encourage people within her own riding, as many of us have already done, both on this side and on the other side of the House, to give as much as possible.

I understand that clothes and other goods are not needed as much as cash. I hear that it costs about $65 to send a box across to the Philippines. What the Filipino people need right now is cash. They need money to rebuild and resettle those people who now have no homes, no food, and no pure water.

Decisions will be made later on as to what will be forthcoming in the fullness of time. Let me just say that at this point what we must focus on is the health, welfare, and sheer humanity of helping the people of the Philippines. That should be the major focus of our efforts right now.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his great work and his great words tonight. The work he has done in reaching out to communities and charitable organizations in Toronto and across this country is really critical to the overall relief we need to bring to the people of the Philippines. It is a real tragedy going on over there. Again, I just want to thank the hon. member for the work he is doing.

Would my colleague reiterate to Canadians how important giving is? Let us take this time of year, a time of giving and a time of celebrating, to remember those who need it most, and that is the people of the Philippines.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, that is an excellent question from the parliamentary secretary.

I am very heartened by a lot of the actions I am seeing within the riding of York Centre. I will give the House one more example. A couple of young kids I know are having their bar mitzvahs in a couple of weeks. Rather than accepting gifts or money for their bar mitzvahs, they are encouraging people to make a money donation to Philippines relief.

That demonstrates the best of Canada. That is what Canada is all about. That is what family does. I am so proud to call Canada my home and to say that the Filipino people and all others are such wonderful Canadians. I am so proud to be a Canadian.

[The Deputy Chair, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Resuming debate. The last five minutes of the debate this evening go to the hon. member for Don Valley West.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to join in this debate tonight. I want to begin by offering my heartfelt sympathy and support to all those within the Filipino community who have been impacted by the terrible tragedy of Typhoon Haiyan. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire Filipino Canadian community at a time that is desperate for so many.

Canada is working hard to ease the suffering of the people affected by the typhoon that swept through the Philippines nearly two weeks ago. As a clearer picture of the full impact of the storm emerges, we know that as many as 13 million people have been affected and that more than 4 million people have been displaced. More than 1 million houses have been either damaged or outright destroyed.

Contributions in response to the typhoon are pouring in from all over the world. We are already starting to see the positive impact that international assistance is making in the lives of those affected by this terrible tragedy.

Canada continues to be deeply concerned for the people of the Philippines, and we have been a leading player in the international response. We continue to work through both Canadian and international partners to alleviate suffering and save lives, in response to the crisis.

Canada has been engaged from the beginning, making humanitarian assistance a priority and helping those people affected by the typhoon. Even before Typhoon Haiyan hit, Canada allocated $30,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help them to prepare for the coming onslaught. Within 24 hours of the storm sweeping across the Philippines, Canada pledged an additional $5 million to support the work of humanitarian partners on the ground, allowing them to begin providing assistance immediately.

One day after that, in response to the unprecedented level of damage and knowing the desire of Canadians to help those in need, the Government of Canada announced the Typhoon Haiyan relief fund. Let me just say that Canadians' generosity has been impressive and immediate. Already, more than $19 million in donations from Canadians has been received by registered Canadian charities.

On November 11, Canada deployed its disaster assistance response team, or DART, which will provide relief such as water and sanitation, as well as emergency health care. This was soon followed by the deployment of the Canadian Red Cross field hospital and a medical team, which is part of Canada's strategic partnership with the organization.

In addition, Canada's support for key United Nations agencies contributed to the early response to the crisis. For example, Canada is the fifth largest donor to the central emergency response fund, which quickly released $25 million to respond to the devastation. To address ongoing needs, Canada committed $15 million in humanitarian assistance on November 18. This means that Canada is the fourth largest donor to this relief effort. This demonstration is well noted among the Filipino community.

I had the opportunity just last Friday to attend a mass at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Parish in Toronto, a church that welcomed some 400 or 500 Filipinos and their families to attend mass under the leadership of Archbishop Thomas Cardinal Collins. I can tell the House that it was a most moving and memorable service.

Our government continues to stand with the Filipino Canadians who are desperately waiting for news of their loved ones and especially with those who have had their worst fears confirmed. Our government also announced last week that, effective immediately, we will be prioritizing outstanding visa applications from Filipinos who are significantly and personally affected by the typhoon. I am sure I speak on behalf of all Canadians when I say we stand beside them now in the wake of this devastating typhoon.

Canadians are among the most compassionate and generous people in the world, and they are proving it through their overwhelming donations to the Canadian charities that are responding to the impact of Typhoon Haiyan.

I am thankful for the opportunity to bring the hon. members up to date on how Canada is responding to the needs of people affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

[The Deputy Chair, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

It being 11:27 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 53(1), the committee will rise and I will leave the Chair.

(Progress reported)

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 11:27 p.m.)