Open Letter from Senators to Prime Minister Calls for Further Assistance to India
In an initiative spearheaded by Senator Omidvar, members of the Senate of Canada with close ties to the Indian subcontinent are calling on the federal government to do more to assist India as it battles a devastating COVID-19 outbreak.
April 27, 2021
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,
We are writing to you to first thank you for your funding of $10 million to the Indian Red Cross to help it in its hour of need. As members of the Senate with close ties to the Indian subcontinent, we welcome this move, but we are writing to urge you to do more.
The COVID-19 disaster has engulfed India and spread to other regions. The country is registering over 300,000 new cases per day and nearly 3,000 deaths each day. These are the official numbers, but the toll could be much higher. Should further action not be taken, India could well have over a million cases each day which would send the country into a tailspin, with knock-on effects which will reverberate across the globe.
The spread of infection is taking a devastating toll. The healthcare system is strained to its maximum and it is beginning to fall apart. People have been unable to get the care that they need as hospitals have run out of beds, oxygen and ventilators. It saddens us that makeshift crematoriums have been set up in parking lots of cities to deal with overwhelming death toll.
In February, India came to our aid by shipping vaccines to Canada to support our vaccination drive. It is now time for Canada to be generous in return and send much needed supplies, such as ventilators, that we may be able to spare. Other countries, such as the UK, have already sent supplies to India. Canada needs to follow suit now before it is too late.
The pandemic is a truly global fight. If we don’t help our friends and global neighbors, the pandemic will continue to ravage our world.
We urge you to take urgent and timely action and provide further help that is meaningful and necessary.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Senator on behalf of and with:
The Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator
The Honourable Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Senator
The Honourable Sabi Marwah, Senator
The Honourable Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, Senator