Trudeau non-committal about restoring funding to Palestinian relief agency UNRWA
'We're not making any announcements today,' PM says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government isn't ready to announce it's restoring federal funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the UN agency that has been delivering aid to the people of Gaza.
"We're not making any announcements today but we will continue to make sure Canada does the right thing in this situation and puts the protection of civilian life at the forefront," Trudeau said at a media event in Toronto about his government's pharmacare plan.
Trudeau said the federal government has ministers on the ground in the Middle East "engaging with partners" on "all the things Canada can and should do."
"The ongoing humanitarian crisis and disaster in Gaza is heart-wrenching for everyone. We know how important it is to get aid into Gaza, to help the families, the innocents, the civilians, the people who have been devastated by the past few months."
Trudeau's government and a number of other major donors cut off any additional funding for the agency in January after Israel alleged that some of UNRWA's staff were somehow involved in the Oct. 7 attack that left more than a thousand Israelis dead, injured or captured as hostages.
After the release of an Israeli report about alleged UNRWA staff involvement in that deadly day, the agency fired 10 staff members. Two others were later confirmed dead, UNRWA said.
UN investigators are reviewing the Israeli accusations and are expected to deliver a public report on their findings.
CBC News reported Tuesday that the government is prepared to resume funding UNRWA — including a $25 million payment in April and future funding.
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen had been scheduled to make an announcement Wednesday but later cancelled his appearance.
A source told CBC News that the UNRWA funding announcement is still coming soon.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with reports of widespread famine.
The Hamas-run Gaza health authority has said at least 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.
Many people have been displaced and thousands are said to be injured or missing as a result of the war.
U.S. armed forces have been airdropping aid into Gaza to offer some relief. There is also talk of getting more aid into Gaza through the sea.
The previous Conservative government cut off Canada's funding to UNRWA in response to claims that some of its money was somehow assisting Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
The Liberal government announced in 2016 that Canada would restore funding after that pause.
Trudeau said Thursday that when the government made that decision, it put "significant conditions about where and how that funding was to be used."
"We will continue to ensure the funding — any funding — we give on humanitarian issues anywhere around the world is used to protect the most vulnerable," he said.
Two Liberal MPs, Anthony Housefather and Marco Mendicino, said Thursday in a media statement that they support providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza but oppose having that support go through UNRWA.
"We are deeply troubled by the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel," they said in a joint statement.
"In addition, UNRWA employees have been sanctioned in the past for facilitating terrorist activity and for using antisemitic materials in educational textbooks. This misconduct has contributed to the spread of violence, disinformation and hate."
Given the agency's "history," the MPs said they "believe UNRWA lacks sufficient governance and internal controls to ensure that humanitarian aid delivered by Canada will be reliably delivered to those who actually need it and that there is a serious risk funds will be misappropriated by Hamas."
The MPs said Canada, the U.S. and other allies should "create new vehicles of humanitarian aid" to help the people of Gaza without having to rely on UNRWA.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused the agency of being a "terrorist organization" and has promised to cut funding if he becomes prime minister.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that while he supports investigating the allegations, the move to pause funding was the wrong choice because it punishes desperate people who rely on the agency.
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