It has been revealed that the Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced funding to the tune of $15.3 million to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in armies across the Middle East.
The goal is to "ensure a more inclusive and gender-responsive approach to peace and stabilization in the region."
In partnership with the International Organization for Migration, the Canadian government promised $4.7 million to help the Jordanian Special Operations Forces "integrate female soldiers into the organization through the designing and construction of a dedicated female accommodation building at their headquarters."
A further $1.1 million has been allocated for "the construction and renovation of dedicated female accommodation buildings" in Jordanian Armed Forces bases "to ensure that female soldiers are holistically integrated within the JAF," as well as $1.8 million to expand the JAF's Military Women's Training Centre.
Over in Lebanon, the Canadian government will be spending $3.9 million to increase the capacity of the Lebanese Special Operation Force "to better plan and conduct operations, including with the participation of female personnel."
A further $3.8 million has been allocated to construct a new building at the Lebanese Armed Forces' Mountain Warfare Ski School that will "establish a learning environment that supports a variety of instructional needs and allows for multi-gender occupancy to support female integration efforts into LAF operations."
The government lamented that as of now, "there is no appropriate location for conducting training and education efforts and the ability to engage female integration into the training is limited due to a lack of safe, appropriate accommodations."
The aforementioned projects were announced on September 30, 2024 as part of the over $38 million in funding to "support security, peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Asia."