Canada to provide $32m in aid to Pakistan

Canada will provide up to 33 million US dollars in urgent aid for victims of Pakistan’s historic floods.

MONTREAL: Canada on Saturday announced it was providing up to 33 million dollars (32 million US) in urgent aid for victims of Pakistan’s historic floods.

“This contribution will help meet the priority needs, which include food, water and sanitation, emergency medical care and shelter, essential household goods, logistics and coordination efforts, and the deployment of Canadian relief supplies,” House of Commons leader John Baird said in a statement.

Up to $25 million in humanitarian aid will be provided through the Canadian International Development Agency, while another eight million dollars from the Global Peace and Security Fund will go towards “urgently needed equipment”, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said. The money will go towards bridging equipment.

A Canadian senator of Pakistani origin, Salma Ataullahjan, helped announce Canada’s aid, and said her heart goes out to the flood victims. “As someone born in Pakistan, specifically who has had a home in the Swat valley destroyed, I can tell you that every one of us who lives in Canada but still has roots in Pakistan is touched by this tragedy,” Ataullahjan said in a statement.

“Today we have shown once again that the government of Canada and all Canadians are there to support the people, (and) our hearts are with the families who have suffered losses.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2010.