Canada confirms it will resume funding United Nations relief agency for Palestinians
The Canadian government has confirmed it will restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
International Develop‐ ment Minister Ahmed Hussen confirmed the move at a press conference Friday in Mississauga, Ont.
Canada suspended fund‐ ing to UNRWA in January af‐ ter Israel alleged 12 employ‐ ees of the aid agency were involved in some capacity in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Is‐ lamic Jihad.
CBC News first reported on Tuesday that the govern‐ ment intended to resume funding after Ottawa re‐ ceived an interim report from the United Nations investiga‐ tion of Israel's allegations.
A senior government offi‐ cial said that, based on the information in that interim report, the federal govern‐ ment was comfortable with resuming funding.
CBC News is not naming the source because they are not authorized to speak pub‐ licly about the decision.
"Canada has reviewed the interim report of the UN Of‐ fice of Internal Oversight Ser‐ vices (OIOS) on this matter and looks forward to the final report," says a press release accompanying the announce‐ ment.
"While these investigative processes continue, UNRWA has taken immediate mea‐ sures to strengthen over‐ sight, accountability and transparency.
"UNRWA plays a vital role in Gaza, providing over 2 mil‐ lion people with humanitari‐ an relief, in addition to its crucial operations supporting 4 million people elsewhere in the region."
WATCH | UNRWA is the 'backbone' of aid for Pales‐ tinians in Gaza, Hussen says
Hussen told reporters that Canada is resuming funding to UNRWA in part be‐ cause of the dire situation on the ground.
"Lives are at stake and this support simply cannot wait," said Hussen. "UNRWA forms the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and in the region.
"We have been reassured by the contents of this inter‐ im report, but in addition to that, we've been reassured by the number of processes and steps that UNRWA itself has undertaken, as well as reforms introduced through the leadership of the UN sec‐ retary general."
After Israel alleged 12 UN‐ RWA employees were in‐ volved in the Oct. 7 attack, the relief agency fired 10 of the accused employees. The two other accused employ‐ ees were later confirmed dead, UNRWA said.
In addition to lifting the suspension on funding to UNRWA, the federal govern‐ ment is providing $100,000 in funding to a charity in Jordan for the purchase of supplies which will be delivered to
Gazans, in part through Jor‐ danian airdrops.
The Canadian Armed Forces also will be providing the Jordanian air force with approximately 300 cargo parachutes to replenish their supplies for humanitarian aid airdrops.
A draft version of the news release for Friday's an‐ nouncement, shared with CBC News, said that the do‐ nated parachutes "are enter‐ ing the end of their lifecycle and that would otherwise be destroyed. However, they are still suitable for the purpose of dropping cargo."
That information was not included in the news release published by Hussen's office.
In a social media post Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was flip-flopping on UNRWA fund‐ ing.
"Trudeau 'paused' UNRWA funding because of ties to terrorists and revelations that their employees took part in the October 7th at‐ tacks," wrote Poilievre. "A month later he flip-flops.
"His next step: he will send out his MPs from Jewish ridings to criticize the latest decision so that Liberals can be all things to all people."
Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae echoed Hussen's explanation for the resumption of Cana‐ dian funding to UNRWA in an interview with CBC Radio's The House airing Saturday.
Host Catherine Cullen asked Rae if this decision by Canada to restore funding should be interpreted as an exoneration of UNRWA. "Not at all," Rae said.
"There's only been a parti‐ al report from the first inves‐ tigation and that investiga‐ tion has not yet had the op‐ portunity to meet with the Government of Israel," he said. "The secretary general wrote to the government of Israel at the end of January asking for full cooperation with this UN investigation team and, to this point, the Israeli government has not shared any detailed informa‐ tion with respect to the origi‐ nal allegations of the 12 em‐ ployees.
"We decided that this is taking a very long time. We can't wait now because of the situation on the ground. Chil‐ dren are starving. People are dying. There is not enough food getting in. That must be the priority for everybody, in‐ cluding Israel."
WATCH | Israel insists UNRWA must be replaced as Canada appears poised to resume funding
The United Nations says approximately 500,000 Pales‐ tinians in Gaza are facing cat‐ astrophic levels of food inse‐ curity. An estimated 1.7 mil‐ lion Palestinians are internal‐ ly displaced within the be‐ sieged enclave.
Israel insists that UNRWA must be replaced as the pri‐ mary aid agency for Palestini‐ ans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed last month that the relief agency has been "totally infiltrated" by Hamas.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israel's chief military spokesperson, escalated ac‐ cusations against UNRWA on Monday, claiming at a press conference that 450 of the agency's employees were members of militant groups in Gaza. Hagari did not pro‐ vide names or other evi‐ dence to support the claim.
On Tuesday, the relief agency's Commissioner-Gen‐
eral Philippe Lazzarini ac‐ cused Israel on the floor of the UN General Assembly of conducting a "deliberate and concerted campaign to un‐ dermine [UNRWA's] opera‐ tions and ultimately end them."
UNRWA says it employs more than 30,000 employees in total, 13,000 of whom are in Gaza.