Ottawa, Ontario – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced the deployment of relief supplies from Canada’s emergency stockpile to address the immediate needs of conflict-affected people in northern Iraq.

"Canada remains very concerned by the escalating humanitarian and security situation in Iraq, where violence has displaced 1.3 million people, with countless more under threat,” said Minister Paradis. “Canada continues to condemn the terrorist actions of ISIL, and the killing of civilians in northern Iraq, in the strongest possible terms. Particularly concerning is the ongoing, targeted persecution of religious minorities, which only inflames sectarian tensions among Iraqis.”

The Minister also announced that Canada has established, and will now maintain, a second warehouse of stockpiles in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Storing stockpiles of emergency relief items in the UAE will allow Canada to react more rapidly and efficiently to events in Africa and Asia. This facility is already fully operational and this is the first time emergency relief supplies from this stockpile are being deployed.

“Canada’s emergency relief stockpiles of basic, lifesaving necessities can be shipped around the world at any time. In times of crisis, rapid delivery of basic supplies can be a matter of life and death,” added Minister Paradis. “Maintaining stockpiles on both sides of the globe will allow us to reach people more rapidly and ultimately save more lives.”

Canada’s stockpile, which is managed by the Canadian Red Cross, is comprised of relief items designed to meet the basic needs of crisis-affected populations, including tents, blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, and jerry cans.

Minister Paradis also announced the allocation of the remainder of Canada’s assistance package, originally announced on August 10. The remaining $2.75 million will be allocated to four experienced humanitarian partners active on the ground.

Quick Facts

• Canadian officials, including Canada’s ambassador who has spent the last two weeks in Iraq, will continue to monitor the situation and assess the security and humanitarian challenges.
• Since the beginning of 2014, Canada has allocated over $21 million to respond to humanitarian needs in Iraq, of which over $11.8 million is for populations affected by civil unrest, and $9.6 million targeted at Syrian refugees. On June 2014, Iraq was added to the list of Canada’s development country partners.
• Over the last six years, Canada has sent emergency relief items in response to 14 humanitarian emergencies.
• The strategic placement of Canadian emergency relief items at International Humanitarian City in Dubai is a key example of the strong development cooperation relationship that Canada and the United Arab Emirates have forged and formalized under a Memorandum of Understanding for Development Cooperation, signed by Minister Paradis and Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi in April of this year.