- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Independent
- Spadina—Fort York
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 62%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $144,966.01
- Government Page
- Mar/21/24 7:14:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on December 14, I raised with the Minister of International Development the numerous media reports of UNRWA employee involvement in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
I asked if the minister still held the view that regardless of an UNWRA employee literally holding an Israeli citizen hostage, he still regarded UNWRA as a “trusted” agency. This is important because, unlike the minister, several UNWRA donor countries, our allies, did not share that same glowing view and quickly suspended funding to UNWRA pending an investigation.
How is it possible for UNWRA to be held in such high esteem by the minister and the Liberal government when evidence indicates UNWRA is joined at the fanatical hip of Hamas?
I am glad the minister was able to at least admit allegations against UNWRA were “very disturbing” and that Canada’s concerns had been expressed to the head of the agency. These concerns should be clearly conveyed because, and I do not think members would be surprised to hear this, but Canadian taxpayers are not keen on funding listed terrorist organizations.
On February 1, in response to my question, the minister said that the government was awaiting the results of the UN investigation and did not want to “jump to conclusions”, but the investigation’s final report is scheduled to be published on April 20, and the Liberal government restored UNWRA funding on March 8.
Does the minister have a secret ability to time travel? Did the government know something no one else did? It did not wait for anyone to jump, or not jump, to conclusions. It simply made its own. Moreover, on March 8, the Liberal government reinstated UNRWA funding, despite the ongoing UN investigation and despite the fact that the government had been briefed with additional information that very morning of that same day.
What led Canada to jump the gun on resuming UNWRA funding? I thought the minister had said they would wait for the results of the investigation. How would the Canadian government know what that final report had found when the investigation has not finished and the report has not even been published yet?
Instead, let us examine what the Liberal government did know prior to its decision to restore funding to UNWRA on March 8. It knew that Hamas is deeply embedded in UNRWA and in key posts. It knew that Hamas members dominate UNWRA’s education system. It knew that Hamas uses UNWRA facilities for military activities. It knew that UNWRA’s education system incites hatred and even glorifies suicide bombers.
On that Friday afternoon of March 8, when the Liberal government reinstated funding, it also knew that at least 15 UNWRA employees were involved in the October 7 terror attack. It also knew that nearly 2,000 UNWRA employees, more than just a few bad apples, but one in six, are members of a terror organization. That is the extent of what our government knew, yet it still decided to reinstate funding.
Let us not stop there. It also knew that there are six UNWRA school principals in Gaza who are Hamas members. As well, 11% , or one in nine, of UNWRA’s facilities contain terror infrastructure.
What kind of madness has permeated the Government of Canada to restore funding to an agency more concerned with the advancement of terror than it is with any humanitarian work on behalf of the innocent Palestinian people?
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- Feb/1/24 3:12:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, some UNRWA personnel are said to have participated in the October 7 Hamas terror attack. However, Canada had sent UNRWA $48 million by the time the government got around to suspending its funding. Aside from transparency, timing and creative accounting, International Development, Global Affairs, is now shocked to learn taxpayer dollars have been going to an agency joined at the fanatical hip with Hamas.
Does the Minister of International Development still think UNRWA is a “trusted” agency, or is he finally going to recognize that taxpayers do not like funding an agency linked to a listed terror group?
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- Jan/31/24 9:07:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are here this evening to try to understand why the Minister of International Development was such a stalwart defender of UNRWA and to get clarity for Canadians on how their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being used.
When I asked the government last year, on December 14, 2023, about the $10 million in additional taxpayer dollars it pledged to UNRWA in spite of evidence on the misuse of international aid by Hamas, instead of treating it with the seriousness that it deserves, the minister accused me of making “political points”. It is not political to want to ensure Canadian tax dollars are not being used to fund terrorism. It is the government's moral and legal duty. In the minister's response, he noted that he “had numerous meetings with the head of UNRWA, Mr. Lazzarini” and emphasized that he will continue to work with “trusted agencies, like UNRWA”.
I would like to tell the minister and the federal government about their trusted agency. On October 7, 2023, six UNRWA workers were part of a wave of Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people. Two UNRWA workers also helped to kidnap Israelis. Just two days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that intelligence estimates around 1,200 of UNRWA's roughly 12,000 employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. That is one in 10 employees at the minister's trusted agency. About half have close relatives who belong to Islamist militant groups. The report also stated that 23%, or nearly one in four, of UNRWA male employees had ties to Hamas. An Arabic teacher at UNRWA is said to be a Hamas militant commander who took part in a terrorist attack on Kibbutz Be'eri where 97 people were killed and about 26 were kidnapped and taken as hostages. In 2017, the former head of UNRWA's union was fired after he was elected to Hamas' top political leadership. An UNRWA math teacher, belonging to Hamas, was close enough to a female hostage in Gaza that he took a picture of her. Another teacher was carrying an anti-tank missile the night before the invasion. Is that part of the trusted agency curriculum?
Since October 7, 2023, Hamas has stolen more than $1 million worth of UNRWA supplies, including fuel and trucks; and an intelligence assessment claims Hamas operatives are so deeply enmeshed within the UNRWA aid delivery enterprise that they coordinate transfers for the organization. Does any of this sound like an agency to be trusted?
UNRWA is an organization full of hate and it has been indoctrinating generations of innocent Palestinians to hate Jews. I have been reading excerpts of UNRWA's textbooks and I cannot believe what it has been teaching. Did members know that teachers are required to punish students who do not directly connect Judaism to murder? Did they know terrorists are glorified as role models, and that suicide bombings and cutting the necks of the enemy are glorified?
Therefore, I would like to ask the government if it still believes UNRWA is a trusted agency and why Canadian taxpayers are footing the bill to support UNRWA when this so-called humanitarian agency participates in the operations and murderous actions of Hamas, a listed terrorist organization.
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- Dec/14/23 3:14:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite evidence on the misuse of international aid by Hamas, Canada recently pledged $16.2 million to non-profit organizations in the region, including $10 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for its Palestinian programs.
How can Canada fund UNRWA when one of its own employees held an Israeli citizen hostage in Gaza? Hamas uses UNRWA buildings to launch rocket attacks. Over 100 Hamas terrorists attended UNRWA schools that teach anti-Semitism and Israel's elimination.
Will Canada review its UNRWA funding and suspend it if the agency is found to be in non-compliance with UN operational standards?
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