Ahmed Hussen refused to give a clear answer.
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced that Canada would be sending an additional $40 million in aid to Gaza.
Hussen says the money will be given to organizations other than UNRWA, though he still outrageously praised UNRWA for doing ‘good work.’
Yet, when questioned, Hussen refused to confirm that Canada had actually cancelled any planned funding to UNRWA.
Reporters asked Hussen whether the $40 million was money that was originally slated to go to UNRWA and then redirected, or whether it was new money. He was also asked whether Canada had actually cancelled any real funding to UNRWA.
As you can see below, he refused to give clear answers:
Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen says Canada will be sending $40-million in aid to Gaza and praises UNRWA for providing “humanitarian aid.” The Government of Canada put a pause on funding of UNRWA due to alleged links to Hamas. pic.twitter.com/2Q8B0dk7Lz
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) January 30, 2024
This raises an important question:
Did Canada actually ‘pause’ anything?
Did we actually cut funding to UNRWA?
Disturbingly, it appears that funding was already dispersed to UNRWA, and the government has simply attempted to give the appearance of a funding cut without any funding cut happening.
And, if – as is likely – the UN puts together a biased ‘investigation’ that falsely exonerates UNRWA, the Liberals could resume funding without any change having actually happened.
So, at this point, the funding ‘pause’ by the Liberals appears to be another disgraceful attempt to ‘both-sides’ everything.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
