‘It’s complete chaos’: Quebec aid groups denounce Canada’s ‘false aid’ in Gaza

The way Canada provides aid in Gaza via airdrops is “tremendously dangerous and inefficient,” according to Quebec aid organizations.

Four humanitarian groups rallied in downtown Montreal Thursday morning, calling on the federal government to rethink how it provides aid in the war-torn region.

They say Ottawa is simply providing a “mirage of aid” to those in need.

“It creates a tremendous amount of chaos where people are just throwing themselves in desperation to try and take that needed humanitarian aid, that food, for an entirely starving population,” explained Anne Delorme, the director general at Humanité and Inclusion Canada. “So that means that the strongest are going to be able to access that aid. But the most vulnerable, and we work with persons with disabilities, women and children, those injured by the conflict, they will never be able to access it.

“There are packages that are being launched from the sky and then they land on the ground. There’s no organization that’s controlling the distribution of that aid, ensuring that people can access it, set it in a dignified and safe fashion. It’s complete chaos. And some of those packages are landing at sea, on people’s tents, they’re injuring people. It’s an absolutely ridiculous form of providing aid.”

Delorme says easy solutions exist.

“We can ensure that the trucks are allowed to come in,” she said. “That’s going to ensure a larger supply and enable us as organizations to do our work. We are experienced; Humanité and Inclusion Canada has been present in Gaza since 1996. Our staff are actively responding to the crisis. We know how to do this work. Allow us to do it.”

The four aid organizations — Oxfam-Québec, Humanité & Inclusion Canada, Médecins du Monde Canada and Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI) — demonstrated outside the Complexe Guy-Favreau.

They are calling for the lifting of any obstacles towards humanitarian aid.