People waiting for food and aid distribution at Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Aug. 6, 2020, after an explosion two days earlier left many people in need.DIEGO IBARRA SANCHEZ/The New York Times
Canada is in talks with Lebanon to send the country emergency grain exports after its main silos were destroyed in the Beirut port explosion, prompting food-security concerns amid an ongoing economic crisis there.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne made the offer during a phone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart, Charbel Wehbe, Wednesday. He talked to Mr. Wehbe after speaking with Cereals Canada, a Winnipeg-based industry group, to see whether Canadian grain producers and exporters could help fill the gap caused by the disaster, which left Lebanon with less than a month’s grain reserves.
“I am trying to put buyers and sellers in contact. In terms of urgency, we’re willing to facilitate this as the government,” Mr. Champagne said in an interview with The Globe and Mail Thursday.
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“[Mr. Wehbe] was talking to his colleagues who are perhaps more directly responsible for that aspect of the crisis and promised to get back to me.”
Mr. Champagne said the potential for emergency exports to Lebanon presents an “opportunity” for Canadian grain producers. The Canadian agricultural sector has faced a number of roadblocks over the past couple of years, including rail strikes and protests that caused delays in getting grain to market. However, Canadian grain exporters have seen a boost in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, as commodities such as Canadian oil weakened, more railway space was freed up.
Cereals Canada said it was not in a position to comment on the Lebanon export talks Thursday.
Mr. Champagne said he has also spoken with a number of large Canadian pharmaceutical and food businesses – mostly in Quebec, where there is a large Lebanese diaspora – who are keen to help respond to the explosion.
He said the government is looking at ways for Canadian businesses and individuals to help, including a potential matching fund. Ottawa has organized matching funds in the aftermath of other disasters, such as the Haiti earthquake, pledging to match individual donations made to certain humanitarian groups.
At least 145 people were killed and thousands injured when an abandoned cache of ammonium nitrate ignited in Beirut Tuesday, sending a shock wave through the city. No Canadians were reported among the dead, as of Thursday, but a Canadian Armed Forces member who works at the embassy sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The Canadian government has committed an initial $1.5-million to “trusted partners on the ground,” including the Lebanese Red Cross, to help provide emergency medical services, shelter and food. Speaking to reporters Thursday, International Development Minister Karina Gould said the government will decide how it will allocate another $3.5-million in humanitarian assistance over the coming days and weeks.
Ms. Gould said the government will support long-term reconstruction efforts in Lebanon as the country deals with economic collapse. She said Canada is also working with the international community to consider how it can help Lebanon, which defaulted on its foreign currency debt in March.
“Canada is always willing to have conversations, whether it’s with the G7, or the G20 or the multilateral development banks, to see what we can do to assist Lebanon. However, we feel very strongly that there need to be significant political and economic reforms within the country to make sure that that assistance would be most effective,” Ms. Gould said.
For now, Mr. Champagne said the government is providing financial support to trusted humanitarian groups in Lebanon, given “governance” issues in the country.
“We are working with NGOs that have a direct impact on the ground, which can be accountable to the government of Canada and Canadian taxpayers,” he said. “We’re very mindful that this needs to be channelled to people who have a long established record of integrity and efficiency.”
The government said it has received 64 requests for consular assistance.
The Canadian embassy, which closed temporarily after the explosion, will reopen for consular services on Monday. Ms. Gould said the embassy came out “relatively unscathed.”
Despite the explosion and ongoing instability in the country, Mr. Champagne said he sees no immediate need for a mass evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. The Canadian government evacuated thousands of citizens from Lebanon during the 2006 war. There are currently more than 11,000 Canadians registered with the federal government in Lebanon.
“People who are Canadian or permanent residents, they have a right to come back to Canada whenever they choose,” Mr. Champagne said.
With reports from The Canadian Press and Reuters
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