Manitoba welcomes child from Gaza seeking health care, other provinces urged to follow – Winnipeg
A child from the Gaza Strip seeking treatment arrived Thursday in Winnipeg, with the support of the Manitoba government, and a cabinet minister has called on other provinces to do the same.
An 11-year-old Palestinian boy and his mother were greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Wab Kinew, who said the province is already planning to welcome a second child in the coming weeks.
“We have always been people who stand up in times of conflict and famine and natural disasters to help the innocent,” said Kinew.
Kinew did not name the 11-year-old boy or discuss details of his medical condition, citing privacy concerns. The boy, who came to Egypt with his family, has a genetic disease that cannot be fully treated in the region, said Kinew.
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The prime minister gave the boy a small Canadian flag at the airport and spoke to him through a translator.
“He misses some members of his family that he hasn't seen for a year, he wants to study engineering when he grows up,” said Kinew.
Marc Miller, the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said children from Gaza came to Canada for medical help, but it was the first time the provincial government had put full weight behind the effort.
“We've had other states where we've gotten private funding or hospitals stepped up and said, 'We're going to treat these people,'” Miller said. “It is very easy when the prime minister stands up and says, 'I will put my name behind you.'
“I think we can do more as a country.”
The child was identified with the help of Doctors Without Borders in Egypt and the federal government completed an admissibility test.
Non-profit groups in Manitoba have stepped up to provide housing for the boy and his mother, Kinew said, while the Manitoba Islamic Association and other groups have provided financial support, groceries and more.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, children have been sent from Gaza to Qatar, various European countries and the US for medical assistance.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Department says there have been more than 110,000 casualties during the war. One third of the 46,000 killed were children.
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