Mr. Speaker, there is one thing that we can definitely do for Iraq and that the Iraqis want us to do for them, and that is to provide humanitarian aid to alleviate an unbearable situation on the ground and help displaced persons within the country.
Thousands of families have had to leave the conflict zone. Over 1.5 million people are affected, including 1.2 million displaced persons. People always mention these figures when they talk about disasters in one place or another, but I am trying to think of it this way: 1.5 million people is the size of Montreal, or twice the size of our wonderful national capital. It is important to picture the number of people who have been affected to their very core by this disaster and try to look beyond simple numbers.
These people have an urgent need for humanitarian aid. Current conditions are very difficult. These people have been displaced in unbearable 40-degree heat, and now winter is coming. People often think that winter in those areas is rather mild, but they are not. The winters can be very harsh.
The situation is so difficult that the United Nations has declared it a level-three emergency, which does not happen very often. It is rare for there to be several at a time, and unfortunately there are currently four: Syria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Iraq.
These 1.2 million people need everything: food, water, shelter, medication and healthcare. They basically have nowhere to go because the neighbouring countries are already overwhelmed by the large number of Syrian refugees. Even Syria has a lot of Syrian refugees.
I forgot to mention that I will share my time with the hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.
These people have nowhere to go. They can only be displaced in a country that is already facing significant problems. These people want to stay in their country and do not want to leave. As I mentioned, that is not the issue for them. They need aid and particularly they need refugee camps.
My colleague from Ottawa Centre, the foreign affairs critic for the official opposition, went to Iraq. He told me when he came back that the people he spoke to only asked for aid and camps. I found that fascinating.
These people also need protection. Some of them are members of Christian or other minorities and they are persecuted and murdered. The conduct of the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant is barbaric. In addition to the murders, there is a worrisome phenomenon that unfortunately is all too frequent in this type of situation: the use of rape as a weapon of war and sexual violence against women, girls and boys, especially those belonging to religious minorities.
For these people, fear, and I would even say terror, is ever-present, as is hunger and possibly the cold, because winter is coming; in addition, they constantly worry about the future, which must be terrible.
I appreciate the fact that Canada has donated money. It has donated $28 million, including $19 million to deal with this specific situation. Moreover, Canada's contribution will also help provide, among other things, psychological help, especially to victims of sexual violence. However, we must do more. The problem with this type of situation is that we cannot say that we have made a contribution and stop there. The crisis and everything the people are going through do not stop. We cannot give once and think that we are done.
The needs are still enormous. On September 5, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued the following statement:
The [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] urgently needs more financial support to be able to meet the needs of forcibly displaced people and host communities across Iraq. As part of the UN humanitarian relief effort, UNHCR will soon launch an appeal for US$315 million to meet the needs of the internally displaced in Iraq. The main focus will be on providing life-saving protection services and assistance to respond to the most urgent basic needs of displaced Iraqis, including winterization support.
Once again, the subject of winter comes up. I would like to add a little note here, because I see that a small portion of the aid Canada is offering will go towards preparing for the winter and providing supplies accordingly. However, it is not very much. We need to do more, now. I have heard reports about various organizations in Syria that issued pleas for supplies for the winter. They issued their pleas at the end of the summer and did not get a response until the spring, when of course it was too late. I hope we can move more quickly this time.
In fact, Canada responded favourably to the NDP's requests to support refugees, combat sexual violence and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. We therefore expect the Canadian government to make additional commitments in those areas in the coming days.
I think we can all agree that we always need to ask for more to be done. There is no doubt that the current situation is very difficult. I have talked about the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the situation in Ukraine and in Syria, as well as the most recent conflicts in the Middle East. However, it is our moral duty to be there. Furthermore, Canada's contribution in the area of humanitarian aid—our trademark for many years—could help to improve our international reputation, which has unfortunately suffered greatly in recent years.
