Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. I thank my colleague from Mount Royal for sharing his time with me. He is such a passionate speaker, as we all just witnessed. He is definitely a hard act to follow.
I am sure that most members in this House would agree that this is a critical time in the world, but despite this act of the United States, in addition to the act of terror we saw only a few days ago, Canada continues to show compassion, and Canada continues to show love. I am extremely proud of the response that the Prime Minister gave to the executive order when he said that Canada's doors would be open, particularly to those in need and to those who were displaced by the executive order.
There is no doubt that we are experiencing perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. A quarter of a million people have died in civil war and more have been wounded. Inside Syria, 13.5 million people need urgent help, 6.5 million are internally displaced, and 4.8 million have fled.
However, our response and the response of Canadians, the generosity of Canadians throughout the country, and the action of this government have led to nearly $1 billion in humanitarian aid. Canadians individually have donated over $30 million, which has been matched by the federal government. I think the crisis has actually brought out the best in us.
In my riding of Kingston and the Islands, over 200 refugees from Syria have relocated to Kingston and have made it their home. It is the diversity in Canada that we value so much, because we realize that our diversity actually makes us stronger.
There was a very interesting scenario a couple of months ago when I was at an event where people were being acknowledged for all the work that they were doing to help the Syrians come to Canada. I had the opportunity to stand up and speak. I thanked the individual organizations for their work, the United Way, the Rotary Club, the other organizations that participated, the individuals who have come forward to show their kindness. I thanked them for doing what they did for the Syrians to bring them to Canada and to Kingston.
After that event, a gentleman came up to me and said, “You did a really good job of thanking everybody for what they did, but you never thanked the Syrians for coming to Canada.” I did not quite understand that at first, and then he explained something which made so much sense. When we think about those refugees who are moving across the globe, who have made a decision to take their families and leave, who have travelled by boat, who have stayed in refugee camps, who have fought the systems to get to a safe place, these are the exact people we want in our communities. These are the people who make our communities strong, who drive the economic engines of communities. That is why diversity, accepting immigrants and accepting refugees from throughout the world, is so critically important.
I myself am the product of two immigrants, whose parents chose to come to Canada in the 1950s after the Second World War when much of Europe was displaced.
Tonight we are talking about the executive order more specifically, and while this is a time of uncertainty for some, the Government of Canada is working with the American administration to get clarity on the impact of the recent executive order. The minister has already addressed a number of key questions, but the government will continue to engage officials in the American administration to gather more information and keep Canadians informed.
While we continue to seek clarity, I can assure this House that nothing has changed regarding Canada's attitude towards immigration and humanitarian treatment of those in need of protection.
It is important to point out that the United States has always been a strong ally in helping to resettle vulnerable and persecuted people from around the world. Along with Canada and Australia, the United States has been one of the top three refugee resettlement countries for a number of years now. We understand that the new administration has paused parts of its resettlement program to review its policy. We will continue to be in close contact with the U.S. and look forward to the analysis that it will bring forward when it is finished this process.
In the meantime, we will continue to engage the U.S. and other close allies around the world, including the United Nations Refugee Agency, to move forward on meeting resettlement commitments.
In short, Canada's commitment to refugees will continue to focus on the most vulnerable, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Canada has always played a role and will continue to do so. As the Prime Minister often says, diversity is our strength. The Prime Minister has also pointed out that Canada's policy on refugees and immigration is open yet also rigorous, focusing on making sure that the processes are followed and that security is always strongly addressed.
The recent executive order issued by the U.S. administration has caused some people to ask the government how the order may affect Canada's refugee and in-Canada asylum policies. For example, some people are wondering if the order will affect the Canada-U.S. safe third country agreement, as we have heard repeatedly asked tonight. Under this agreement, refugee claimants are expected to make their claims in the first country in which they enter unless they qualify for an exemption. This principle is recognized by the United Nations Refugee Agency.
The safe third country agreement remains an important tool for Canada and the U.S. to work together on the orderly handling of refugee claims made in our countries. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act requires the continual review of the countries designated as safe third countries. The purpose of the review process is to ensure that the conditions that led to the designation as a safe third country continue to be met. The Government of Canada has no indication, to my understanding, that the executive order has had any impact on the American asylum system.
The minister has said, as we have heard, that he will continue to monitor the situation, but in the meantime, the safe third country agreement remains in effect. Canada has, and will continue to have, a strong asylum system that provides protection for those in genuine need of it. It has safeguards to ensure that those who would face harm are not sent back to persecution. I strongly believe that this will not change.
As I get to the end of my speech, I would like to say that it is always easy to pull back and we are seeing that in other parts of the world. We are seeing countries pull back. Canada has had numerous examples of where we have not made that decision and instead where we have been the welcoming beacon of hope for many different refugees throughout the world. As a new country in the early 20th century, we accepted thousands of persecuted Jews. Between 1947 and 1952, one-quarter of a million displaced Europeans came to Canada. In 1956, 37,000 Hungarians escaped Soviet tyranny. In 1968 and 1969, we welcomed 11,000 Czech refugees. Between 1970 and 1980, more than 60,000 boat people found refuge in Canada after the Vietnam war. In 1999, Canada took over 5,000 Kosovars.
As President Obama said when he was here, the world needs more Canada, and I could not agree more. I said earlier that both my parents are immigrants and as said by another colleague earlier tonight, unless we are of aboriginal descent or belong to one of our first nations, we are all immigrants. We have all come here and contributed to this country to make it so great and to make it what it is.
My grandfather lived in Holland and spent the latter part of the Second World War in hiding. As a Dutch man, he worried as the Germans were going through Amsterdam literally pulling men from their families to work in factories. He spent two years in hiding. When he finally was liberated and walked on the streets of Amsterdam for the first time in about two years, it was Canadian soldiers that he encountered. That is when he decided that he would move his family to Canada.
That is the reputation we have around the world. The world knows that Canada is open and the world knows that Canada is willing to accept people in need. I could not have been prouder of the way our Prime Minister responded, albeit there has been criticism over the medium that was used, but he was quick to say and quick to remind the world that Canada would be there in the time of need for the most vulnerable.