The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs claims it takes precautions against taxpayer dollars going to “nefarious actors” in Gaza, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Canada sends $472 million in annual foreign aid to the Middle East, according to the 2022 Statistical Report On International Assistance, including $66 million to the West Bank and Gaza. Canada has continued to send relief funding to Gaza, where the Israel-Hamas war has been carried out since October 7 — but officials say none of its foreign aid money goes to Hamas, the terrorist group at the head of the Palestinian government, where Gaza is located. In June the foreign affairs department approved $100 million in a four-year contract to fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which the Briefing Book describes as “the main multilateral body that supports 5.9 million Palestinian refugees across the region,” but does not comment on what work the UN is doing in Gaza. In a July entry of the department’s censored Briefing Book, it states “Canada does not provide any funding to the Palestinian Authority directly and enhanced due diligence protocols guard against the diversion of Canadian funds to nefarious actors.”The entry did not elaborate on what these enhanced protocols are, nor explain what steps it took to ensure funds would not be misappropriated by terrorists. “There are several conflicts, e.g. Israel-Palestinians,” it said. “There is nonetheless opportunity for Canada to promote mutually beneficial growth in these relationships.”“The overarching goals of international assistance align with Canadian values such as respect for the rule of law, democratic governance, human rights, diversity and inclusion, economic security and environmental sustainability,” wrote the department. “Canadians expect their government will defend these values both at home and internationally and generally agree supporting the poorest and most marginalized is the right thing to do.”While Canada sent millions to Palestine, the briefing reports that “commercial relations with Israel are strong” at $2.1 billion in 2022 and “benefit from the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.”“Israel, a global innovation hub, is the top destination for Canadian direct investment in the Middle East and North Africa region with $537 million in 2021,” the briefing states. “Commercial relations with the Palestinians are much smaller and harder to track. Bilateral trade was estimated at $9.4 million in 2019.”The briefing also summarizes Canadians’ “fairly negative views” on handing out such extensive foreign aid, costing a total of $8.4 billion last year, per Blacklock’s Reporter, citing 2023 data from an in-house study called Canadian Views On International Assistance Tracking. “More than half of Canadians say a lot of international aid from Canada ends up in the pockets of corrupt politicians in the developing world (56%) and that most international aid does not get to the intended recipients (54%),” the study found. “Moreover 41% agree most international aid is spent on programs that don’t help reduce poverty."
