Mr. Speaker, I just found out today about this petition that I received from my constituents. It is rather appropriate since around this time of year people are giving to the “share Lent” campaign and that money goes to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.
The petition from people in Kingston asks the government to reverse its CIDA funding cuts to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. Funding for the organization used to fund development assistance in 40 countries. Now it is down to seven countries and only one of them is in Africa. Therefore, the petitioners ask, in the spirit of global solidarity, for the government to grant the full funding of $49.2 million over five years to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.