OTTAWA – Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champange is visiting Lebanon this week to learn of the devastation caused by the fatal explosions in Beirut and to urge the government of the country to begin taking concrete steps in the fight against corruption.
The stopover in is an impediment on a multi-country tour, Champagne’s first since many countries around the world, including Canada, closed their borders in March to slow the spread of COVID-19.
It comes just 3 weeks after a strong explosion in the Beirut port devastated the city, killing at least 180 people, injuring more than 6,000 and leaving much of the Lebanese capital in ruins. Two Canadians are among the dead.
Canada has so far pledged $ 30 million to help pay for food, water, shelter and emergency medical assistance afterward, and Champagne said she plans to meet with aid personnel to see progress and learn about their needs.
“I’m reviewing the selection of all our efforts, of the other people on the ground,” Champagne told The Canadian Press in an interview on Sunday, adding: “We have about 25 (diplomatic) employees there. Of them lost their homes. in the explosion “.
The minister, who is lately in Switzerland, will also meet with members of the besieged Lebanese government, whom many Lebanese blame for the blast due to years of neglect and widespread corruption.
Over the weekend a report emerged saying that the Lebanese government had been continuously warned over the years that stocks of ammonium nitrate were improperly stored in the port, near several residential areas.
Many Lebanese took to the streets after the blast to call for an indefinite investigation into the blast and an end to the broader challenge of corruption, a call that echoed through members of the Lebanese network of another 200,000 people in the country. . Canada.
Champagne said he plans to deliver that message to Lebanese President Michel Aoun when the two meet this week in Beirut and bring the Canadian government’s own voice to each other’s demands.
“I think it is vital for me to bring the voice of the network in Canada, which spoke to me in very transparent terms about the desire for governance, the desire for reforms, the desire to rebuild the country,” Champagne said.
When asked what swift steps the Lebanese government can take to show its sincerity, Champagne echoed previous calls for an independent investigation, adding that Canada is in a position to help by deploying RCMP officers.
Champagne said Lebanon has already accepted such an offer, prompting the gendarmerie to follow FBI agents and their French national police counterparts, but that Canada needs to see the terms of such an offer first. investigation.
“We need a credible, transparent and thorough investigation, so my point will go to President Aoun:” If you need Canada to be involved alongside the FBI and the French national police, there are situations around that, “Champagne said.
“We presented it, it gave us a reaction from the Lebanese government. But now I need to make sure that the situations we are prepared for are because we need to get the truth, we need to get justice, we need accountability and transparency. “
Champagne is in Switzerland to meet with various UN officials, as well as the director of the World Economic Forum and the World Trade Organization. He will also travel to Italy and Britain before returning home, when he will be in quarantine for 14 days.
Champagne noted that Italy will take over the G20 presidency next year, while Great Britain moved to the same position for the G7, recommending its stopover in the two countries with the aim of shaping their respective agendas.
“This is how Canada will influence the agenda, the global agenda,” he said.
“It is also part of my discussions today, for example, with the director of the World Economic Forum to see how to rebuild better, how to rebuild more environmentally, how to build together. “
This report via The Canadian Press was first published on August 23, 2020.