Minister Ahmed Hussen optimistic about Syria's future after trip to border
Feds announce $17.24M in humanitarian aid, say senior officials are engaging with transitional government
While the world waits to see how Syria's new leadership will govern the war-torn country, Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says there's "absolutely no question" it is a step up from the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Hussen has just returned from a trip to the Middle East, which included a visit to Turkey's border with Syria, during which he announced $17.25 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians.
The government says this was the first Canadian delegation to the Syrian border since rebels seized the capital city of Damascus and ousted Assad in December 2024.
"As the Syrian people emerge from over a decade of suffering under the Assad regime, this moment really represents a critical turning point," Hussen told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
"It offers Syrians the hope that they may begin rebuilding their future. And our job is to support that process."
'Senior' Canadian officials have been the ground in Syria
Hussen, along with Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra, met with humanitarian officials and government leaders in Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The goal, Hussen says, was to connect with Syria's closest neighbours to "make sure that we're co-ordinating our response to this new reality."
"What stood out to me is our collective commitment and desire to make sure that we work together very closely to restore stability in Syria and to enable Syrians to have a better, secure, prosperous future," he said.
While Hussen and his colleagues did not cross the border into Syria to meet with officials there, he said "Canada has been engaging" with the country's new leadership.
"We've had senior officials from Global Affairs Canada who have been on the ground, engaging this transitional government, as well as talking to neighbouring countries," he said.
CBC has reached out to the minister's office and Global Affairs Canada to ask which Canadian officials have been to Syria, when, and who they met with.
Asked whether a Canadian minister would make a diplomatic visit to Syria, as ministers from France and Germany have done, Hussen said: "The political situation is fluid, as you know."
Cautious optimism
When Syrian rebels, led by former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Damascus in December, huge crowds took to the city's streets to celebrate Assad's fall.
Assad fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum, as the rebels dismantled his forces and opened his prisons.
The former president enacted a brutal crackdown on his opponents during Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, including the use of chemical weapons. The United Nations estimates 100,000 people went missing over the course of the war, many of them arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared.
Many Syrians, both inside and outside the country, have told CBC they're hopeful for their country's future now that Assad is gone, but also cautious.
While HTS has severed ties with the extremist group al-Qaeda, Canada continues to list the group as a terrorist entity whose primary objective after ousting Assad is "the creation of an Islamic state."
When asked whether Canada is considering de-listing the group in light of recent events, Public Safety Canada replied in an emailed statement that "Canada considers a variety of factors" when making such decisions.
HTS leader Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, who led the rebellion, has promised to build a representative and religiously tolerant government in Syria.
But some critics have already expressed concern about changes to Syria's education curriculum that remove not just pro-Assad messaging, but also references to pre-Islam deities, rulers and imagery, reports NBC News.
When asked about those concerns, Hussen expressed optimism about the new government's willingness to deliver on its promises, while also noting its "a work in progress."
"There is absolutely no question in our minds, and in the minds of all the countries that are engaging this new government, that the new regime is absolutely much better than the oppressive, dark Assad regime," he said.
"We believe that inclusion, proper representation, making sure that women are empowered, all of that will lead to a much better Syria. And we have made that very clear through our officials and will continue to take that position."
Where will the aid money go?
Conservative Leader Pierre Pollievre previously said in December that Canada should "not get involved" in Syria's affairs post-Assad, adding that it's "not our fight."
CBC has reached out to MP Garnett Genuis, the Conservative Party's shadow minister of international development, for comment on the government's trip and funding announcement, but did not hear back before deadline.
Hussen says the $17.25 million in new humanitarian aid for Syria will go to "international trusted partners who are on the ground in Syria, including UN agencies, to provide clean water and food protection services, sanitation and health services to the Syrian people."
The war, he says, has displaced millions of Syrians, and left the country's infrastructure in "really bad shape."
Asked whether Canadians should boost international aid when Canadians are struggling at home, Hussen said: "We can do two things at the same time."
"We can be there for Canadians, and we have been," he said, pointing to the Liberal government's investments in public dental care, day care, and Canada child benefit payments.
"But we also have an obligation as a member of the international community to be there for the most vulnerable. And it is absolutely in Canada's interest to make sure that we contribute to a more peaceful, stable world."
Interview with Ahmed Hussen produced by Chris Trowbridge
