After Canada allocated $5 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, the provincial government of Quebec announced an additional $1 million donation to support Lebanon’s response to the tragic Beirut Port explosion.
Quebec said that it will donate the sum to groups providing humanitarian aid to the victims of the explosion, which rendered the capital’s port dysfunctional, killed more than 135 people, injured thousands, and caused tens to go missing.
Specifically, the money will go to the groups that have “the capacity to intervene quickly and efficiently in this type of situation,” said Nadine Girault, Minister of International Relations for the Quebec government.
In a Thursday statement, the official extended her condolences to the Lebanese people in Lebanon and Quebec:
“On behalf of the Quebec government, on behalf of the population of Quebec and in my name personally, I want to express to Quebec’s Lebanese community and to the Lebanese people, severely affected by this terrible catastrophe, all of our sympathy and solidarity.”
Furthermore, she stated that the disaster has had a particularly “strong resonance” in Quebec because Lebanon is a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, which brings together countries where French is the first or customary language.
In addition to pledging a total of $5 million for Beirut relief, Canada has lit up its famous CN Tower with the Lebanese flag, in solidarity with the afflicted country.
Meanwhile, rescue teams are still working to locate potential survivors. Late on Thursday, three victims were removed from underneath the rubble of Beirut Port’s silo.
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