Debates of May 7th, 2013

Situation in Syria

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to mention that, in her question, the hon. member quoted someone who was saying that establishing peace will take time because the peace process is long.

Then, the hon. member asked me if I thought that Mr. Brahimi's work is effective. I would like to tell her that a mission like the one that Mr. Brahimi is undertaking can take time. I understand her question, but I would like to tell her that, as she said, a process to achieve peace and stability will take time.

I think that supporting missions, such as those of the UN and Mr. Brahimi, would be a way for Canada to play a leadership role.

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

Mr. Speaker, I remember being in the House during a debate, and it was mentioned at that time that there was inaction by the government in matching dollar for dollar and in engaging the Syrian community. At the time, the member for Mississauga—Erindale called those comments absurd.

To this day, the government has not engaged the Syrian community, which is still waiting to meet with the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. To this day, the government has not matched dollar for dollar what the NGOs and the Syrian community have raised. They have raised millions of dollars. To this day, the absurd thing is that the government has had its head stuck in the sand and does not want to listen. I was wondering if my colleague could shed some light on how her party sees the situation of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism is not meeting with the community and is not matching dollar for dollar.

I will quote a letter I received from abroad. It is from the manager at the embassy in Amman, Jordan. When I asked him if we were running a special program for Syrian refugees, he said, “At this time, there are no special programs for Syrian refugees”. Yet the parliamentary secretary travelled with the minister to Turkey and said we have a special program. They—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order, please. If the hon. member and the parliamentary secretary would like to discuss this matter, they are free to do so outside the chamber.

The hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to mention that the House voted in favour of a motion calling for the government to increase humanitarian aid to refugees. However, to date, the government has still not provided any help to Turkey. Representatives from Turkey have even asked us for help. We have not helped Turkey.

It is also important to say that the House voted unanimously in favour of a motion that called on the government to help refugee families to reunite. The immigration minister voted in favour of that motion. I would like to say that the minister of immigration voted in favour of a reunification program. Where is that program?

It has been some time since we voted unanimously for this motion, and the program has still not been implemented.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order, please. If the parliamentary secretary and the member for Scarborough—Agincourt want to continue this conversation, I suggest they do it outside the chamber. If they fail to do so, they will be asked to leave or they will not be recognized for the balance of the debate this evening.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Newton—North Delta.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague for the compassionate speech she made pleading with the government to intervene on humanitarian and compassionate grounds while a long-term peace settlement is sought.

The question I have for her is about family reunification. There is a tremendous diaspora in Canada from Syria. Family members are coming to constituency offices to plead for the speeding up of family reunification. How could the government facilitate family reunification for the Syrian diaspora?

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear. We did it for the crisis in Haiti, and as my colleague from Québec mentioned, we did it during the conflict in Lebanon. We have taken such measures during many conflicts, including the Iraq war, which was not that long ago. In some situations, Canada has said that it can play a role and help refugees who have families here to come to Canada. Why are we not doing the same in the case of the Syrian crisis?

The immigration minister voted in favour of a motion that called on the government to create a family reunification program, but he never created one. He might as well not have voted, because if he is going to vote in favour of a motion in the House and then not follow up on it, his word no longer means anything.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate my colleague, the hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île. She is very eloquent, and I am always impressed by her work.

What does she think needs to happen in order for all the countries in the world to find a political solution? Which country is most important? I think Russia and perhaps China are the most important. What does my colleague think?

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering the nature of this crisis, the Syrian crisis, I think the support of the entire international community is important.

We all agree that this conflict is affecting more than just one country. It is starting to affect neighbouring countries. I think it is crucial that the Security Council and the United Nations combine their efforts.

Whether it is Russia, China or another country, Canada has a role to play. Canada has always been a neutral country that forged ahead. I think this is vital to diplomatic relations. Regardless of the country we choose to put pressure on, we need to come up with a solution for long-term peace, in co-operation with the UN.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga—Streetsville.

Canada strongly condemns the ongoing violence against civilians in Syria. We call for full, safe and unhindered access by humanitarian actors to all affected populations in need.

Canada remains committed to saving lives and addressing the most critical needs of those affected by the Syrian crisis. Let me take just a moment to bring the House up to date on the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad started in mid-March 2011 in the southern city of Daraa. Fighting between government forces and armed opposition groups escalated and spread to most parts of the country, plunging Syria into further desperation.

Fierce fighting across large parts of the country has led to the massive displacement of civilians, increasing refugee outflows and decreasing access to basic services.

Violence has reached new heights over the last few months, including widespread shelling, bombardment of cities, mass killings and deliberate firing on civilian targets. According to reports, the conflict is primarily occurring in densely populated areas. The Syrian regime makes no distinction between combatants and civilians in conducting its military campaign against opposition forces, routinely violating international humanitarian law.

There is increasing use of heavy weapons in populated areas by both sides, leading to extensive destruction of infrastructure and massive loss of life. The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the current situation in Syria as nothing short of catastrophic. Countless homes, clinics, hospitals and other essential infrastructure, such as water and sanitation systems, have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Civilians continue to be in the line of fire from this violent civil war. At this point, more people have been killed in the conflict since the start of this year than in the entire first year of the conflict. According to UNHCR, it is estimated that at least 80,000 people have died in the fighting, with many thousands of people wounded. In fact, while initially the number of monthly casualties was 1,000 per month in mid-2011, by July 2012, that number had risen to 5,000 per month.

As of today, nearly one and a half million Syrians have taken refuge in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The conflict and the humanitarian situation are deteriorating rapidly as violence intensifies and fighting continues throughout the country.

Violence has spread to Damascus and other new, densely populated urban areas. This has led to increasing levels of destruction, casualties and displacement. The number of people affected by the crisis who are in need of humanitarian assistance is estimated to be more than 6.8 million. Within Syria itself, an estimated 4.25 million people have been displaced.

The strain on communities hosting refugees is compounding the other challenges they have. Tension between refugees and host communities is on the rise, mainly because of competition over jobs, housing and services. In both Lebanon and Jordan, energy, water, health and education services are strained to the limit from hosting the Syrian refugees. Both Lebanese and Jordanians are already facing high unemployment, high prices and poverty, so we can imagine how potentially volatile the situation is becoming.

Canada stepped up to the plate to help. On January 30, at the high-level pledging conference in Kuwait, the Minister of International Cooperation announced additional humanitarian support from Canada to help those affected by the conflict. He also made it clear that Canada continues to support the efforts of the international community to bring about an end to the violence. However, he stated that humanitarian assistance is not enough. A political solution to end the ongoing conflict must be found. Canada has repeatedly called on all parties to end the violence.

Canada's support to the World Food Programme is helping to provide food assistance for up to 2.5 million people. We are working with UNICEF to provide approximately 1.2 million children and their families with health services, immunization, nutrition support, water and sanitation, and education.

Humanitarian workers are making heroic efforts to meet the urgent needs of those affected by the violence. We commend their courageous efforts. They are placing their own lives at risk in order to provide life-saving assistance to those affected by the violence. However, these efforts continue to be obstructed. Even humanitarian actors are not immune to the violence and a number have laid down their lives in their efforts to save others.

Delivery of assistance continues to be precarious and constrained by security issues. As a result, several areas have been deprived of humanitarian assistance either because of the violence or because they have been denied access by both government and opposition groups.

Fighting in areas of humanitarian operations and places where relief supplies are stored remains a challenge. That is why Canada is providing operational support to the UN, to ensure adequate security measures are in place to provide humanitarian assistance and improve safety for humanitarian staff. We are receiving reports, however, that despite these conditions, humanitarian assistance continues in both government and opposition-held areas.

The heads of five UN agencies, UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Health Organization have appealed to the international community to use its collective influence to bring about a political solution to this crisis. They say that the region cannot sustain any more impact from this crisis.

Canada has been a compassionate and generous neighbour to those in need. However, we have repeatedly called on all parties to end the violence. We all know that humanitarian assistance is not enough. A political solution to the ongoing conflict must be found. Canada continues to support the efforts of the international community to bring about an end to the turmoil. The violence in Syria must end.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we have just completed a full study on public-private partnerships dealing with aid. Many times and in many disasters over the last few years, the Liberal government and the Conservative government have matched dollars, for the tsunami, in Pakistan and other areas. My question is, with the member's position and her beliefs that we should be using more private funds to help and aid, why is her government not pushing for a matching of dollars to help people in Syria?

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

Mr. Speaker, I believe the member was at the foreign affairs committee meeting when we had representatives from the Syrian community who came to see us. Indeed, they are doing great work in helping to raise funds for their community. But to date, the total had only been about $30,000. Canada has been a very generous contributor to this situation. To date, we have pledged $48.5 million to assist the people with humanitarian assistance. We are working with our international partners to make sure that the money gets quickly to the people who need it. We are one of the largest contributors to the World Food Programme, ensuring that the food is there for the people in those refugee camps and we continue to monitor the situation. We continue with our generosity. We want to see those people helped.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation for her speech. I would like to begin by making a clarification. Some members seem to be confused when I spoke earlier. I did not say there was a program for refugees from Syria. I said that Canada supports and respects the international consensus, which I assume they all know about, which is reflected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' recommendation that resettlement of Syrian refugees not take place at this time because they deem it to be too early in the crisis for other durable solutions to be ruled out and they cannot begin to address the scale of the situation.

It is a commonly understood and internationally agreed recommendation that when a country is in a crisis, we do not automatically resettle the refugees. We want them to go to their homes once the crisis has ended. We are hoping that this crisis will end and those people will be able to return to their home. We do not want Syria to be depopulated by any minority groups.

The Liberal Party has suggested that Canada should engage in a more comprehensive way with the Syrian rebel forces. Can the parliamentary secretary point out to us some of the difficulties in determining whom among the Syrian rebel forces Canada should be supporting?

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

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have been very cautious about recognizing the opposition parties because they seem to be made up of very disparate groups of people. Therefore, although we encourage the people of Syria to continue to seek means to come to democracy, we want to be very cautious about how we support those opposition parties.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to the debates that we had when Canada was involved in the Libyan conflict. It seems that, had we been able to avoid continuing bombardment and move to a peace process, we might have been able to secure those warehouses full of weapons. It seems very likely that the weapons that were taken from Khadafi's old storehouses found their way to increase terrorist activities in Mali and also fuel some of the al Qaeda forces that are now within Syria.

I wonder if she has had any information on that or any further factual support for the risks that we undertook in Libya that actually fueled terrorism elsewhere?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about what is going on in Syria and the disparate groups of people who seem to be active there. We are concerned about weapons coming in from places like Iran. We are concerned about the positions of both China and Russia. As we said earlier, it is very difficult to get the information from inside Syria because it is often difficult to get into parts of the country that are held by government or by the opposition parties and to get the truth. All members of the international community are finding it very difficult to get that information.

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is great that all members of Parliament from all parties in this House have an opportunity to participate in this important debate tonight. That is a great thing about Canada's Parliament; we want to hear from all people.

I am here to talk about the situation in Syria. From the outset, Canada has actively supported multilateral efforts to address the conflict in Syria, including supporting ongoing political and security initiatives, while playing a leading role in meeting humanitarian needs. The Government of Canada will continue to closely collaborate with multilateral partners in an effort to find a solution to end the violence in Syria in order to allow for a transition to a stable, democratic and pluralistic Syria.

The violence in Syria continues to take a terrible toll on the civilian population. All Canadians are horrified by the ongoing violence in Syria, including the indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population. Despite the international outcry and numerous condemnations by the international community to end the violence, the conflict in Syria is worsening.

Since the violence began, more than 80,000 Syrians, most of them civilians, have lost their lives. Over 4.25 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes and communities. More than 6.8 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The influx of refugees fleeing Syria underscores the appalling impact of this conflict.

Canada has soundly condemned the Assad regime's vicious and indiscriminate attacks on its civilians. We continue to call upon the Government of Syria to immediately cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres.

Conscious of the danger, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have chosen to flee their country and seek refuge outside its borders. Over 1.4 million individuals have fled to neighbouring countries. Turkey is hosting over 324,000 refugees. Lebanon is hosting over 455,000 and Jordan is hosting over 448,000. Iraq is hosting over 142,000, while Egypt is hosting more than 62,000. We want to commend the governments of these countries for their great generosity in welcoming those who are seeking safety. We recognize the burden that this places on them.

Canada stands with the Syrian people in their time of need. Canada, through CIDA, has provided humanitarian assistance to allow humanitarian organizations to provide urgent life-saving relief inside Syria and to those who have sought relief in neighbouring countries. This support is allowing humanitarian organizations to provide emergency food assistance, shelter, safe water, sanitation facilities, essential household items, emergency health care and often much-needed assistance to Syrians who are affected by this crisis.

We will continue to work closely with our like-minded partners to address those humanitarian needs, both inside Syria and in those neighbouring countries.

For many of those remaining in Syria, unfortunately, the outlook is grim. Humanitarian organizations, most notably the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as United Nations agencies, are making every effort to meet the urgent life-saving needs of those affected by the violence.

However, these efforts continue to be obstructed. UN humanitarian relief efforts continue to be hampered by extreme insecurity and restrictions imposed by the Assad regime. Sadly, even humanitarian actors are not immune from the violence and have paid with their lives in their efforts to provide relief to others.

Canada continues to call for a full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those who are in need. Those in positions of power in Syria must move quickly to facilitate those efforts. The Government of Canada, in cooperation with other international partners, will continue to press at every opportunity on this point.

Canada is deeply concerned by threats to the safety and security faced by humanitarian workers in Syria. Already the Secretary General of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and five Red Crescent volunteers have lost their lives in the line of duty. We pay tribute to their immense courage.

Medical personnel, medical facilities and ambulances must not be targeted, and health care personnel must be able to provide aid in safety without hindrance. The Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, for example, must be respected by all sides.

Canada continues to support the efforts of the international community to bring about an end to the violence. Canada has financially supported the mission of the UN Joint Special Representative. We have repeatedly called on all parties to cooperate with and support the efforts of the Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, to end the bloodshed and facilitate an inclusive Syrian-led political transition.

We urge the UN Security Council to adopt binding international sanctions against the Assad regime in order to increase pressure on Assad to immediately stop the violence and end what is now becoming a humanitarian catastrophe. We continue to call on those countries with influence in Damascus to press the Assad regime to end the violence and work toward a peaceful political transition.

Canada has enacted 11 rounds of strict economic sanctions against the Assad regime and has expelled all remaining Syrian diplomats. We call on countries around the world to adopt equally strong measures against the Syrian regime to ensure it fulfills its commitments and immediately stops the senseless slaughter of its own people.

Canada has participated in all of the Friends of Syria working groups and co-chaired a meeting of the International Working Group on Sanctions, known as the Friends of the Syrian People. We will continue to exert pressure on the Syrian regime in order to further isolate Assad.

The Government of Canada will continue to support multilateral efforts to end the needless suffering of Syrians affected by this crisis. We will work to ensure life-saving assistance reaches those who need it.

Finally, the violence in Syria must end. A political solution to the crisis must be found. The international community must redouble its efforts to pressure the Syrian regime to stop the violence against its own citizens. Assad must step down to allow a democratic and pluralistic Syria to emerge.

May God bless all the people of Syria in this time of need.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I have a simple question for him.

Since his government voted in favour of a motion calling on the House and the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to introduce a mechanism to facilitate family reunification, why has nothing been done to date?

If my colleague recognizes that there is a crisis in Syria and that the situation is urgent, why has his government still not done anything to help Syrian refugees?

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no country in the world that is more open than Canada to refugees and to helping those around the world and resettling them not just in Canada but around the world. We will take no lessons from any other regime or any other individual in the House in that regard. Canada's reputation is stellar.

Our job is to work with the United Nations human rights commissioner and the refugee resettlement program to make sure we are working with them to ensure that Canada's role is in partnership with the international community. That is exactly what the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has said we are doing, and that is exactly what Canada will continue to do. Our job is to partner with the international community to get the best results for those Syrians and those Syrian refugees who are outside of their country right now and to make sure they can return home to the country they love.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I detect a certain tension in the government's position. On the one hand, the government's position would appear to be that Assad must go, but on the other hand, we are not sure what is going to replace him so we are not sure how or when he should go. I wonder if the member could perhaps clarify the government's position with respect to the position of President Assad.

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Toronto Centre for starting this conversation tonight. It was his motion that brought us here. As members of Parliament, we all play an important role in these conversations and make sure we are speaking out on issues both domestically and internationally. I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this debate.

The situation in Syria is complicated. It is not just about a regime change of the current leadership, but it is also about making sure that regime change when it does happen will benefit the people of Syria, that it is in their best interests, that it is not just some rogue group that takes over.

Our job as the Government of Canada in working with our international partners is to make sure we facilitate an appropriate regime change at the appropriate time that ensures Syrians have their country back in a democratic, fair and pluralistic society that respects basic human rights for all the people who want to live in Syria. That is what all of us in the House want. That is what this government will be promoting.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House as well as the hon. member for Mississauga—Streetsville has heard about the terrible allegations of the potential use of chemical weapons, sarin gas, in Syria. The rebels say that the Assad regime used them, while the Assad regime says the rebel forces used them. There is credible evidence coming from other countries that such weapons have been used in Syria.

Could my colleague tell us what the Government of Canada's response has been and how the Government of Canada is trying to help in that regard?

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if it is true that chemical weapons have been used by either side in any way, shape or form, it would completely change the dynamics. It would be completely unacceptable. There is not a human being alive who would say that action is acceptable. To do that against any other human being is unacceptable.

I am sure our government will continue to play a strong role in this and make sure that, if that is indeed the case, swifter, stronger and better action is taken against the perpetrators.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to share the time I have with my colleague, the hon. member for Saint-Lambert.

We know the situation in Syria is terrible. Let us first talk about the 70,000 people who have been killed there. I would like to take this opportunity to again extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of those 70,000 people. Beyond those who have died, however, there are also the living who are experiencing terrible suffering right now.

For the past few months especially, we have seen a massive influx of refugees into the neighbouring countries, including Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. In January 2013, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees counted 500,000 refugees. Half a million refugees is a huge number. Four short months later, there are 1.3 million refugees in the neighbouring countries. Some people believe that the number could be even higher because the quicker and larger the influx, the longer it takes to register people. Half of those 1.3 million refugees are children. Over half a million children are living in camps, often in appalling conditions.

All this puts absolutely enormous pressure on the neighbouring countries. Lebanon, for example, could have 1.2 million refugees by the end of the year. That is terrible. Lebanon, Turkey and the other countries are doing everything they can, but they cannot handle the situation alone. No one could. If we take the figures for Lebanon and compare them to the population, for example, it would be the same as Canada suddenly receiving 3 million refugees. A developed country like Canada would have a lot of difficulty taking in 3 million refugees at once. Therefore, we can imagine that countries in the region are facing almost insurmountable challenges, which they certainly cannot overcome without the help of the international community.

That is not all. There are refugees outside Syria, but there are also displaced persons inside the country. We are talking about 4 million displaced persons, approximately half of whom are children. In addition to those 4 million displaced persons within the country, there are 2.8 million people who urgently need humanitarian aid.

A few weeks ago, I was in New York, where I met with representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. They described the situation to me: drug shortages, destroyed water systems, lack of sanitation, destroyed hospitals, schools that have all but disappeared, children in Aleppo who have not gone to school in a year or two. The country is essentially falling apart.

The needs are immense. Without massive international humanitarian aid, the consequences could be catastrophic. This aid is needed immediately. Epidemics are starting to take hold here and there, and things are going to get worse this summer.

To work with refugees outside Syria, people displaced within Syria and people who need humanitarian aid, the UN has asked for $1.6 billion, but it has received commitments for just over half that amount.

I would like to lend my voice to Stephen Cornish, the executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, who wrote an excellent article recently. He said:

We are failing the Syrian people. Right now, women, men and children are suffering and dying needlessly. We can and must do more to help them.

I recently returned from a two-week mission to Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. There I met with Syrians struggling to survive a brutal civil war that has so far killed more than 70,000 people and forced more than one and a half million to flee to neighbouring countries.

I also met with aid workers providing lifesaving assistance--from my own organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and from the few others present.

One thing became absolutely clear to me on this trip. We, the international community, are not living up to our responsibility to meet the escalating humanitarian needs of the people caught up in this intractable war.

Truly, we are failing the Syrian people. The medical needs are overwhelming--from shrapnel injuries that go untreated for lack of accessible care, to pregnant women who must risk their lives to deliver their babies, to sufferers of chronic illnesses like diabetes and cancer who can't obtain treatment, to the miserable and unsanitary conditions of the camps for displaced people.

He went on to say:

The conflict in Syria shows no sign of abating, and the needs of the Syrian people are increasing daily. There is no excuse for our continued humanitarian failure. We must act now.

I agree with those comments and with what Mr. Cornish said about how this is not a question of money. We have to admit it. We also have to convince Damascus and the opposition groups to give humanitarian workers access so that they can provide some much-needed aid.

We also have to help and push the neighbouring countries to make it easier for humanitarian workers to gain access and do their work. There are things we need to work on. We must encourage people on the ground to comply with international humanitarian law.

Despite these problems, money remains the key, because in order to have humanitarian workers, there needs to be money to send them there. Of course, Canada has made an effort in that regard, but it barely scratches the surface. The Minister of International Cooperation is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, even though we know from experience that hundreds of worthy projects could have been supported by CIDA.

Could the minister not have taken a small portion of those hundreds of millions of dollars to help cope with this tremendous humanitarian crisis?

The money is there. There is no doubt about it. There is no excuse for inaction. The Syrians, their neighbours and the international community expect nothing less from us.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been a very generous donor. We are the fifth largest donor per capita. To date we have contributed $48.5 million to help with the humanitarian situation in Syria. We continue to assess the situation and will do more as the needs grow. However, we do call on all funders to pay what they pledge. We would like to see all of those contributions that have been targeted for the Syrian conflict brought to the table so that humanitarian efforts can be made.

I would personally like to thank very much all the Canadians whose hard-earned tax dollars we are spending to help in the humanitarian assistance. I wonder if my colleague would not like to do the same.