Canada Aid Heads To Panay

15 November 2013

The Canadian military's Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, went to Iloilo Wednesday carrying engineering vehicles and equipment for typhoon Yolanda victims in Panay Island, particularly Iloilo and Capiz Provinces which were badly hit by the tropical storm.

The Canadian Forces C-17 that left CFB Trenton on Monday was carrying 54 members of the DART, along with their equipment, which included ambulances, a forklift, a communications truck, as well as a fully supplied medical team heading for Cebu and Leyte.

“The main objective is to get food, water, medicine and shelter to devastated areas as quickly as possible,” said Christian Paradis, Canada’s Minister of International Development, speaking in Ottawa on Thursday.

The Canadian government has brought in two C-17 to help in logistic efforts in the Philippines with the second plane heading to Iloilo Airport.

The Canadian Forces will also set up a separate 12-member Canadian Red Cross field hospital in Roxas City while the rest will stay in Iloilo Airport to support logistics operations.

Canada's DART provides basic medical assistance, engineering support and clean water from its sophisticated purification systems.

The 118 Canadian soldiers include engineers and medics, whose jobs includes the clearing of roads, repairing generators, bottling clean water and fixing other infrastructure work to help other aid workers in the area.

Canada headed to Iloilo and Roxas after a request from the Philippines government and has pledged $5-million in cash aid to the Philippines.