Mr. Chair, I want to thank the government for its response to this horrific typhoon. In this country and in this place when we see disasters happen, be they in Haiti or in the Philippines, it is a time for us to work together to help the people who need it. I really want to convey that spirit in the debate tonight, in how we present our concerns, so that we have a respectful debate and be sure to remind ourselves that it is about the people of the Philippines. I want to say that at the start.
I want to ask the minister a question on the breakdown of the $20 million in contributions. There are, for instance, $4 million to the UN World Food Programme, UNICEF $3 million, the Red Cross $2 million and the International Organization for Migration $2 million. Could the minister give us an understanding of how these amounts were arrived at and what input he had in coming up with these donations to the various organizations?