Canada pledges another $5.7 million in Ukraine humanitarian aid

AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

Canada is pledging another $5.7 million to Ukraine in humanitarian aid, according to International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen. The announcement comes with Hussen visiting Kyiv as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine reaches the two-and-a-half-year mark.

The minister's trip to the war-torn country is focusing on children, reported the Canadian Press, with Hussen set to visit a children's hospital damaged by a July Russian airstrike. His office clarified funding will help displaced people meet their basic needs and protect children from Russian aggression.

A $2 million portion of the funding will go to Save the Children Canada, an organization that has been operating in Ukraine since 2014 and delivers humanitarian aid, including food, education and psychosocial support.

The bulk of the funding, totalling $3.5 million, is being awarded to International Medical Corps UK, another group that helps provide medical and mental-health services. A further $200,000 is being given to the United Nations for humanitarian services.

Carbon tax protester calls out Trudeau for his hypocrisy in supporting democracies around the world — like giving billions of dollars to Ukraine — but ignoring his own citizens when they oppose his policies driving up the cost of living for Canadians.https://t.co/dh39RL8IFZ pic.twitter.com/XbCED1exzQ

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The Trudeau government says this round of funding brings total aid to $28.2 million so far in 2024. A previous round of funding announced in June saw Ottawa send $10 million over five years to a UN project supporting Ukrainian youth. 

Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a senior official over the war crime of unlawfully deporting children to Ukraine.

"We will continue to work with our partners to help reunite Ukrainian families, address pressing humanitarian needs, and ensure the country's recovery and reconstruction," Minister Hussen said in a statement. 

The federal government has allocated $12.4 billion in aid for Ukraine to date. However, other government estimates pin it to be $13.3 billion since the conflict began. Canadians are increasingly mixed about this continued funding and its impact.

Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland speaks on how there's a lot to learn from the Ukraine war: "Ukraine is teaching all of us, again, the true strength of democracy." pic.twitter.com/L8MxYoac2r

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A large number of focus group respondents expressed “gratitude that they lived … far removed from military conflicts,” said Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views. Many had a “declining personal interest” in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“It was felt Canada’s contributions had not had much of an impact and that Ukraine’s efforts to end the conflict had stalled with little hope for peace in the foreseeable future,” wrote researchers. Others expressed concerns with its impacts on Canada’s economy and fuel prices. 

However, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, of Ukrainian descent, pledged ongoing financial support last April. “We will be there until Ukraine wins the war,” she told reporters. This was despite internal Department of Finance polling where fewer than a third (32%) of Canadians support more aid for the war-torn nation. 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters last March that taxpayers “need to get results for their money," but stopped short of committing to reducing aid to Ukraine at the time.

Earlier this year, Canada inked a 10-year security pact with the war-torn country for $3 billion. Meanwhile, concerns are boiling over after nearly two decades of Canada not meeting its own NATO spending targets.