Madam Speaker, in January I visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, where 900,000 people, the population of Mississauga, are crammed into 34 small camps. There are 500,000 children there. About 60 babies are born each day. It is the largest refugee response in the world.
The camps are going into their third monsoon season. Flood control and sanitation systems have been built, and food, water and medical care are being provided. More good news came in the form of the recent ICJ ruling and Bangladesh's decision to allow better education programming.
I thank the Government of Bangladesh and the local host community, the Government of Canada and my host, World Vision, for their leadership. Our special envoy, Bob Rae, is doing extraordinary work and we have an amazing team of public servants on the ground. However, the future remains uncertain for the Rohingya.
I ask my colleagues in this House to be their champions, to explain to their constituents why Canada has taken a leadership role and to help ensure that the children in Cox's Bazar will have a much brighter future.