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| Wednesday, 12 January 2005 |
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The Canadian High Commission today announced a number of measures to assist Sri Lanka following the tragic tsunami which struck South and South-East Asia on December 26, 2004. Prime Minister Paul Martin called President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to express his deepest sympathies on behalf of all Canadians to the families involved and promised that Canada would assist Sri Lanka during this difficult time. His emissary, Health Minister Dosanjh visited Sri Lanka January 7 and 8 and flew over the East coast to survey the devastation in the Ampara region. Minister Dosanjh also called on the Honourable Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and Head of the Task Force for Rescue and Relief, Dr. Tara de Mel to discuss how best Canada can contribute to relief efforts in Sri Lanka. High Commissioner Valerie Raymond said that Canada's commitment to recovery and reconstruction continues and we are renewing our pledge to help those most in need with the following measures: The Canadian government contribution of at least US$65 million will be provided to organizations that are well established in the affected countries and working to provide immediate assistance. A significant amount of this money will be for Sri Lanka. These monies will continue to go to direct relief and recovery efforts as well as longer-term reconstruction; Canada has put in place, with immediate effect and for the foreseeable future, a debt moratorium for countries affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami; Canada's Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) made up of some 200 military engineers and medical staff has arrived in Sri Lanka and is being deployed to the Ampara region to provide primary medical care and safe drinking water (200,000 litres per day); The Government of Canada is also matching donations made by individual Canadians to Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) already involved in responding to the disaster. As of January 9, these amounted to more than US$73 million and the total is continuing to rise; Emergency relief items were sent on Canadian Forces planes. The first plane with 27,000 kgs of essential supplies sent by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) landed in Sri Lanka on Friday, 31 December 2004. The emergency goods included plastic sheeting, jerry cans and chlorination packets for water purification. The shipments were coordinated by the Federation of Red Cross Societies and distributed throughout the affected areas; In addition, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) has already approved projects for a total of US$ 250,000. These projects are to provide immediate assistance to the affected people in districts such as Hambantota, Ampara, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Colombo. |
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