The Conservative government’s response to the Pakistan flooding tragedy has been slow off the mark from the very beginning, and it now requires a comprehensive plan before it is too late, Liberals charged today.
“They were merely reacting with half-hearted measures while the devastation in the north of Pakistan continued,” said Liberal MP Frank Valeriote. “It took this government weeks to announce they would match recognized Pakistan flood relief donations here in Canada, something Liberals called for from the start.
“Now, with apparently no awareness that Ramadan and the difficulty of organizing fundraisers in the summer months have limited how much communities can contribute up to this point, the Conservatives have put in place an inflexible end date of September 12th as to when they will match donations. This leaves just two days of focused efforts for those planning their Eid celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan on the 10th.”
Last week, Mr. Valeriote sent a letter to International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda, and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, expressing concern around their government’s response to this tragedy and requesting an extension of the matching donation deadline.
“The Liberal Party of Canada believes that at the very least they should extend this date, and they should also ensure a comprehensive response is put in place before it is too late.”
Beyond this extension, this plan would include:
- The dedication of appropriate resources for family reunification here in Canada. Six months after the earthquake tragedy in Haiti, the processing of applications was literally at a standstill and this cannot happen again.
- The deployment of the DART (Disaster Relief Assistance Team) which would be a commitment in addition to the $33 million announced rather than simply taken from that amount.
“For those who have family and friends in the region, Canada’s response has been appalling as this tragedy has unfolded,” said Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, who will be traveling to Pakistan on September 12th.
“We need to see a renewed focused commitment from this government, one that gets the resources on the ground as soon as possible and ensures humanitarian relief gets to where it is needed most.”
