Mr. Speaker, I will share my time with the hon. member for Vancouver East.
Right now, we are facing an enormous crisis, one that the United Nations considers a threat to global peace and security. This crisis does not affect only the countries of West Africa; it affects us all. The worst thing is that the crisis we are talking about so much could well become an even bigger catastrophe if we do not do everything in our power to contain it now.
To date, there have been approximately 10,000 cases since the epidemic began a few months ago. The World Health Organization is now telling us that the number of cases could rise to 10,000 per week by December.
How are we going to cope with potentially hundreds of thousands of cases just a few weeks from now if we cannot cope with 10,000 cases now?
Let us not forget that the worse the crisis gets in Africa, the more likely it is to spread here. We absolutely have to contain the disease in West Africa now. To make that happen, we have to do everything in our power, but unfortunately, that is not happening.
Canada's response so far has been too little, too late. Weeks passed before Canada made its first substantial contribution. When the crisis was raging and people on the ground were desperately appealing for equipment, the Public Health Agency of Canada continued selling that equipment at rock-bottom prices to people who turned around a few days or weeks later and sold it to the World Health Organization at a huge profit. This continued even though the office of the Minister of International Development had been notified of the situation.
The Canadian response to the Ebola crisis is a bit like me having a fire in my livingroom. I decide to put three drops of water on it, but it grows. I then decide to pour a teaspoon of water on it, but the fire keeps on growing. I finally decide to put two or three cups of water on it. Some people would even say that I should just close the door.
Even when we are starting to get a bit more serious, much too late, it seems we cannot do it right or properly.
Canada has promised $65 million in total, but only $5 million has made it to the front lines so far. Does the government realize that in a crisis where cases are multiplying so quickly, time is absolutely crucial and a few days can make all the difference?
Canada promised vaccines. However, it took a ridiculous amount of time for the vaccines to be delivered, and still, they cannot be used for another few months. Canada also promised equipment, but only a little of that equipment has arrived on site.
We see in this case the same mismanagement and failure to act swiftly that we have seen, unfortunately, in too many humanitarian crises—for example, Syria, where we are still not receiving the refugees we promised to welcome to Canada; or when urgent calls for equipment for the winter are answered in the spring; or in South Sudan and the Central African Republic, where the Canadian response has been lacklustre to say the least; and to Ebola, where it is too little, too late, as always.
What should Canada do? It should follow the example of other countries, such as the United States, that have decided to take the bull by the horns. The U.S. has sent 3,000 soldiers, medical personnel and 11 field hospitals.
We must do more in response to the calls by the World Health Organization. Again, this is urgent. We cannot afford to say that we will give a little more and then follow through weeks later. Now is the time to act.
We must also support our other partners on the ground in a more significant way. I am thinking about Doctors Without Borders. I just want to acknowledge the work that is done by those doctors and their president, Dr. Joanne Liu. Dr. Liu is from Montreal and studied at McGill University. There is also the Canadian Red Cross and all the partners in the Humanitarian Coalition, which recently launched an appeal to which I hope we will all respond.
We must support the people who work on the ground, and that includes listening to them in order to find out what they need.
One thing those on the ground are looking for is the deployment of our Disaster Assistance Response Team. DART is available to deal with biological risks and to provide medical care. It can count on the armed forces for logistical support. According to the Prime Minister, deploying DART is not appropriate in this situation. Nonetheless, those on the ground fighting Ebola beg to differ. I tend to have faith in what they have to say.
We also need to think long term. We need to think about building the health systems in those countries. We need to think about building resilience to threats in those countries, whether disease, climate change, or other things. This includes good governance and the promotion of democracy. I know it may sound far away, but here is a good example. I lived in Senegal for years. It is a relatively stable country with good governance and strong institutions. It had a case of Ebola, and it was able to control it. When we compare it to other countries, such as Liberia, which have just emerged from years of civil war and do not have the infrastructure, we see the results. I am not blaming the Liberian authorities. We need to help those countries rebuild. We need to be active in peace building. We have a responsibility to reconstruct. Even if it seems as if we are acting a bit like boy scouts, in the long run we will win and help avoid this type of crisis. We can see that clearly now with what is happening in West Africa.
We can beat Ebola. We must beat Ebola. It is a matter of our safety, of our humanity, and of world stability.