Manitoba bringing 2 children from Gaza for urgent medical care: premier
CBC
An 11-year-old Palestinian boy has arrived in Manitoba to receive urgent medical care he couldn't get in Gaza due to the Israel-Hamas war, the province says.
The province will also host the boy's mother, as well as another child from Gaza who will arrive in a few weeks, Premier Wab Kinew said Thursday.
"To the people of Manitoba ... this is who we have always been. We have always been the people who stand up in times of conflict and famine and natural disaster to help the innocent," Kinew told reporters at a news conference. "We must continue to be that."
The first of the two children arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday, alongside his mother, and will receive care for a genetic condition.
Both children were "carefully selected" under the advice of medical professionals in the province, to make sure the province has the capacity within the health-care system to meet their medical needs, Kinew said.
The 11-year-old boy who arrived Thursday was identified when he was already in Egypt, in co-ordination with Doctors Without Borders.
"At this time of 'Every Child Matters,' I want us to plant the flag on the notion that our province and our country can be a beacon of human rights for the world," Kinew said.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the plan to bring the two children started months ago after a call from Kinew.
"The will of one person can make a difference," Miller said. "Collectively, we can do a lot better by the people of Gaza."
Since the Israel-Hamas war started in October 2023, children have been sent from Gaza to Qatar, various European countries and the U.S. for medical care.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says there have been more than 110,000 injuries during the war, and one-third of the 46,000 people killed have been children.
The federal government has "quietly" brought a number of people fleeing the Israel-Hamas war to Canada, including children who have been medically treated in Ontario, as well as orphans that have been sponsored by family members in other provinces, Miller said.
The two children coming to Manitoba will receive three months of temporary health coverage under the federal government's interim health program, and after the funding comes to an end, the provincial government will assume the coverage.
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