RT. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
On Saturday April 16th at 6:58PM, Ecuador experienced a 7.8 earthquake that took, as of this evening (April 19), 507 lives and injured approximately 2,560 people - the death toll is expected to rise much further.
Yesterday (April 18, 2016), @CanadaDev posted a tweet indicating: that Canada is committing up to $1M to support humanitarian response efforts & help address emergency needs in Ecuador.
Canada is home to the third, if not second, largest population of Ecuadorians, outside of Ecuador. Most of them migrated to Canada in the 1970s. Many Ecuadorian immigrants, still remember your father as the Prime Minister, and have witnessed decades of other leaders come and go. Many of these same immigrants are now Canadian citizens, including my own parents, who now call Canada home. Two generations of Ecuadorian-Canadians, who have contributed to our great nation and its coffers for the last 3-4 decades. While thankful for the initial contribution of "up to 1 million," surely, Canada can do better.
The coastal towns and cities have been completely destroyed. Portoviejo, Pedernales, Canoa, San Vicente and Jama were simply levelled, leaving thousands of people destitute. Muisne, Manta, Bahia de Caraquez Chone have large amount of damages. The country has declared a state of emergency. The Ecuadorian Government is overwhelmed by the shear magnitude of the crisis, estimates of reconstruction well over $3 billion.
Mr. Prime Minister, the Liberal Party of Canada ran on a platform of changing Canada’s international image. We have taken important steps to reclaim our moral leadership in international affairs, such as on the environment and security, and these are things for which Canadians can be proud. Nevertheless, when a small developing country like Ecuador is devastated by a natural disaster, the world’s wealthy nations, such as Canada, have a special responsibility to offer their humanitarian assistance.
The world is watching this crisis unfold and Canada can do better. It is our hope that Canada will revisit its position and commit additional resources and humanitarian assistance to Ecuador.
Rod Ponce
Executive Director
Hispanos En Canada
