Harjit S. Sajjan

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, June 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I move:

That this House do now adjourn.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to all of the people and families who are affected by this horrible earthquake that has taken place in Turkey and in Syria.

I have been in touch with many Canadian NGOs that are either working in Syria or trying to get support into Syria. Our government has already pledged a matching fund of an additional $10 million.

I can assure the member that our government will be doing more.

[International Development, February 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his advocacy and hard work on this very important issue.

All children and youth have the right to quality education and the chance for a better future. That is why our government is pledging $87.5 million over four years to “Education Cannot Wait”, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Our contribution will provide support for 20 million crisis-affected children in accessing quality education, particularly girls and adolescent girls living in hard-to-reach places and fragile or conflict-affected areas.

[Disaster Assistance, February 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Humanitarian Coalition, a group of Canadian NGOs that do this amazing work.

Yes, we have announced a matching fund of $10 million. This is in addition to the $10 million we have already committed. Our needs assessment is currently ongoing and all options are on the table, including additional matching funds. We will even consider direct funding to the Humanitarian Coalition to help the tremendous work that it is doing on the ground.

[International Development, February 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his important work in development.

This is a great opportunity for me to highlight International Development Week and our feminist international assistance policy. Through our feminist international assistance policy, we fund programs that address food security while giving women and girls equal access to education and resources. I will give members an example of this. A study found that if women farmers had the same access to resources as men, there would be an over 40% reduction of people living in hunger.

We will continue to fund programs that have a direct impact on reducing hunger around the world and that increase women and girls' participation in decision-making.

[Disaster Assistance, February 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our government stands ready to support those affected by these devastating earthquakes. This is why today I authorized an initial emergency humanitarian response of $10 million to support the people of Turkey and Syria. This is in addition to the $50 million in funding that we provided for disaster response in Syria, and our international partners on the ground have already initiated emergency response activities. We are also conducting need assessments because we will be doing more.

[Disaster Assistance, February 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to all those affected by the devastating earthquake. Our initial response of $10 million is a start. We are conducing a needs assessment to look at more. Yes, we are looking at a matching fund as well.

I was just speaking with the head of UN OCHA regarding our response and we are looking at all avenues of support. We will have more to say on this.

[International Development, November 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, despite the challenges Ukrainians face, they continue to look beyond their borders in supporting the fight against hunger in the global south. Our government commends Ukraine on its commitment to donating grain to help address the global food crisis as part of its grain from Ukraine humanitarian initiative. This is why Canada is providing $30 million to the World Food Programme to facilitate additional shipments of Ukrainian grain moving through the Black Sea grain initiative.

With our partners, will continue to look at ways on how we can make sure that food is available for the most vulnerable.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, all contracts over the $10,000 amount and all grants and contributions contribution agreements of any dollar amount are proactively disclosed on this website: open.canada.ca. All contracts are proactively disclosed on a quarterly basis.

[Foreign Affairs, November 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, during our visit to Lviv, Ukraine, we had the opportunity to meet with youth from the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, and one thing is clear: Young people have contributed to Ukraine's resistance in the face of Putin's illegal war. These courageous students launched their own campaign called “Heroes Among Us”. They are telling the stories of ordinary people standing determined in the defence of Ukraine. It is inspiring to see their resilience and determination, and Canada will stand firm in our support for all Ukrainians. Slava Ukraini.