Canadian government to match charitable donations for Rohingya refugees

The Canadian government announced today that it will match every dollar Canadians donate between August 25 and November 28, 2017 to registered charities to help the Rohingya refugees.

These donations will be made to the Myanmar Crisis Relief Fund.

“Bangladesh is now hosting the world’s biggest refugee camp where over 900,000 Rohingya and other minorities are fleeing the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie. “I encourage all Canadians to donate to the organization of their choice.”

“Your donation will save lives and will allow them to be treated with dignity until they can return home.”

Since August 25, 2017, the ongoing violence in Myanmar has resulted in the exodus of an additional 600,000 Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.

Canada responded quickly to the crisis and will also help Canadians and civil society organizations mobilize their own responses through the creation of the Myanmar Crisis Relief Fund.

Close to 70 per cent of these refugees are women and children, said Zaid Al-Rawni, CEO of Islamic Relief Canada, who was representing the Humanitarian Coalition at the government’s announcement on Tuesday.

The seven-member coalition, consisting of Canadian Lutheran World Relief, CARE Canada, Islamic Relief Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec, Plan Canada and Save the Children Canada, welcomed the government’s decision.

“It will have a real impact on the ground, and it will save lives,” said Al-Rawni at the announcement.

The Canadian government has already committed more than $25 million in humanitarian assistance funding to Bangladesh and Myanmar this year.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former Ontario premier Bob Rae as special envoy to Myanmar.