11 hours ago
Advocates protest global aid cuts on Parliament Hill amidst G7 Summit
A handful of advocates staged a die-in at Parliament Hill on Monday to protest the United States and other countries' cuts to global aid, imploring Canada to also step up.
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The die-in lines up with the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., where world leaders are gathering between June 16 and 17 to discuss geopolitical issues. The timing of the die-in was intentional to call upon G7 leaders, according to Robyn Waite, founder of the protest's organizing group the Global Sentinels Movement.
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'Those cuts are costing lives with people not getting access to timely diagnosis or treatment or routine immunizations,' she said. 'We're calling on those leaders to reverse those cuts and come back to the table and invest.'
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'We know that there's a budget promised from Mark Carney for the fall, so we are going to continue to advocate hard for Canada to sustain and increase investments in official development assistance,' she said.
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The group took photos in front of the Parliament buildings, holding up signs with slogans like 'Lives on the line: Canada must lead' and 'Aid saves lives. Cuts cost them.' The protesters then lay on the grass lawn with their signs facing up, playing dead to represent the lives at risk because of global aid cuts.
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Derick Cotnam, one of the protesters, said he came out to show support because he didn't see enough 'public-facing information about what's really happening.'
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'It's extremely sad as to what's happened from all the U.S. aid cuts and how it's just basically killing people that don't really have means to defend themselves,' he said. 'Canada is known globally as a nice country that's all about keeping the peace and helping people.
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'I think it's important to step up when other countries are not.'
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Advocating for G7 countries to increase funding and support for global health was particularly important for Suvesh Shrestha, a physician from Nepal who is currently completing his PhD at the University of Ottawa. Shrestha said cutting funding programs particularly targets vulnerable populations, like female sex workers, who in turn lose access to preventative interventions and harm reduction services.
