Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to speak in the debate this evening to support this important motion. Our objective remains the same: to degrade ISIL so that it no longer poses a threat to Canadians and the international community, as the hon. Minister of National Defence just stated.
We know that the threat ISIL poses is real. It is a threat to the world and to Canadians right here at home. The international jihadist movement has declared war on our country, and we must respond. That is why our Conservative government has shown leadership and has put forward measures to protect Canadians.
Throughout our nation's history, brave Canadians have fought against immeasurable odds for what they believed was right. We have not abandoned that tradition.
Our government's approach is multi-faceted and includes both military support and humanitarian aid. As a physician and as the Minister of Status of Women, I know that it is especially important for Canada to continue to support the victims of ISIL's sexual violence. These are truly barbaric acts: sexual slavery, forced marriage, and rape. ISIL has no respect for human life, and its actions represent all that is evil in this world.
Canada is providing a variety of services, including medical support, legal advice, counselling, and clinical care for sexual assault survivors. ISIL's victims require our support, and that is what we as Canadians are providing. However, they also require security and freedom from ISIL's reign of terror, something the opposition would do nothing to address. The military component of our approach allows aid to flow to these areas and allows for more accountable security for aid workers. Aid workers simply cannot get to the places they need to be unless they are protected. The opposition seems to be completely blind to this issue.
Our Conservative government has committed substantial funds to international aid agencies, including the UN and the Red Cross, which have provided food for upward of 1.5 million people, shelter, and relief supplies to over 1.25 million people, and improved access to education opportunities for over 500,000 children, something the opposition again turns a blind eye to. In fact, a previous member stated that we have not done any of these things, which I found quite abhorrent.
In addition, we are working with our British partners in Iraq and are looking for other opportunities to make sure that we address these heinous crimes. The priority is and will continue to be those who are most at risk because they are religious minorities, sexual minorities, or victims of sexual abuse. The reality and gravity of this situation needs to be addressed, and we are doing just that.
I would like to turn my attention to Canada's response. Canada is at the forefront of international efforts to address the situation in Iraq and Syria, and we will continue to co-operate with like-minded partners in responding to this crisis. Canadians have never shied away from our responsibility to our international partners. Our actions with our partners are focused on five key areas: military support to our partners, working to stem the flow of foreign fighters, taking steps to stop ISIL's financing and funding, addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region, and undermining ISIL's narrative.
Canada has deployed six CF-18 fighter aircraft to join the air strikes against ISIL in Iraq as well as several dozen armed forces personnel to provide strategic and tactical counsel to Iraqi forces fighting ISIL militants.
Canadian and allied air strikes are making a difference in Iraq. They have destroyed ISIL equipment, reversed some of the territorial gains, and affected ISIL's leadership, command, control, and logistics. They are stopping the advance. They are making efforts to make sure that individuals can get back to their homes. This is important. That is what the Syrian people want. They want to be in their own homes.
In response to the crisis in Iraq, Canada has committed over $102 million in humanitarian, stabilization, and security programs, and as was just mentioned by my colleague, the Minister of National Defence, these are the largest per capita humanitarian donations. Canada is at the forefront of international efforts to address this situation. We are working rapidly to deliver new development assistance programming in Iraq both to address short-term needs during the crisis and to support stability and prosperity in Iraq over the long term.
In addition, Canada is deeply concerned about the reports of foreign fighters, including Canadians, participating in terrorist activities perpetrated by ISIL. To this end, Canada has recently committed an additional $5 million in assistance to support regional efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria and has listed ISIL as a terrorist entity in Canada under the Criminal Code. We have had success attacking targets in Iraq and are now expanding to where the terrorists are consolidating.
As I and my colleagues have said before, the jihadi terrorists in ISIL have declared war on Canada. They have specifically targeted Canada by urging supporters to attack disbelieving Canadians in any manner and vowing that we should not feel secure even in our own homes. I am not sure what part of this threat opposition members missed, but it is concerning to me that they do not believe that we need to actually make sure that Canadians are safe and secure.
Unlike the NDP and the Liberals, we actually take this threat very seriously. We believe that unless confronted with strong and direct force, the threat ISIL poses to Canada will continue to grow. That is why Canada is not sitting on the sidelines, as the NDP and the Liberals would have us do. We instead are proud members of the international allied coalition fighting ISIL.
Finally, I would like to express my personal thanks to the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, who put themselves in harm's way selflessly every day to protect our democracy and to protect Canadians