The Canadian government is funding a multi-million dollar “gender-inclusive” effort to clear landmines and explosives from war-torn Ukraine, officials have confirmed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced last week that Ukraine would provide C$3.02 billion (about US$2.2 billion) in financial and military support as the war escalates in the country. The press release details several initiatives within the funding package, including CAD 4 million, or just under USD 3 million, for an initiative titled “Gender-Inclusive Landmining for a Sustainable Future in Ukraine” did.
“This project by HALO Trust aims to protect the lives and livelihoods of Ukrainians, including women and internally displaced persons, by addressing the threat of explosives across vast areas of the country.” This is stated in the press release.
“Project activities include conducting non-technical surveys and subsequent manual clearance in targeted areas, providing capacity building to key national stakeholders, and promoting gender-transformative landmine action in Ukraine. This includes the establishment of a Gender and Diversity Working Group.”
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet during a meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, on June 10, 2023. (Maxim Marcenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Prime Minister Trudeau’s office for additional details and information about this effort, and as a result, Fox has contacted Global Affairs Canada, the government agency that manages Canada’s diplomatic and consular relations. instructed to contact.
Canada is funding the project in partnership with humanitarian organization HALO Trust to “protect the lives and livelihoods of Ukrainians, including women and internally displaced persons,” ministry spokeswoman Charlotte MacLeod said in a statement. said.
“This project will achieve this by conducting non-technical investigations, explosive risk education and removal, and building the capacity of state demining agencies,” MacLeod explained.
HALO Trust has established a dedicated in-house gender and diversity working group to ensure that gender is integrated into all aspects of HALO’s research, demining and risk education activities in Ukraine, from recruitment to community engagement. ,” MacLeod added.
After Russian troops withdrew from Izum, Ukraine, Ukrainian demining teams assembled to clear mines and ammunition. (Photo credit: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The HALO Trust is a UK-based non-governmental organization that works to clear landmines and explosives left behind in countries after war. The organization, founded in 1988, gained international attention in 1997 when the late Princess Diana walked through the HALO minefield in Angola, the organization says on its website.
“Demining inspires confidence by making the land safe. It also empowers men and women alike. With training and a living wage, they can control their own destiny.” ” states the HALO website.
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In this photo provided by the National Police of Ukraine, police officers and rescue workers walk in front of the RIA Pizza restaurant that was destroyed by a Russian attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (Ukraine National Police, Associated Press)
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The news about the Canadian government’s HALO Trust and its work on “gender-inclusive demining” has left many perplexed, and some expressing outrage, on social media.
People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier posted: “No kidding! You are paying to facilitate gender-inclusive demining in Ukraine.”
In a post earlier this week when news of the plan first surfaced, author and psychologist Jordan Peterson wrote, “@JustinTrudeau, what the hell is this? I don’t understand this. But it’s actually on the website. “I’m doing it,” he asked.
FOX News’ Greg Gutfeld quipped, “Gutfeld!” This week, he called the effort an example of “extreme stupidity.”
“So how do you know when you’ve reached peak stupidity? The time for diversity guidelines for demining is now. Canada spends $4 million on demining efforts in Ukraine “But in a gender-inclusive way,” he said.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Andrei Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images)
To ensure that projects in Ukraine are “gender-inclusive,” the Gender and Diversity Group will “bring together national and international experts to We will work to provide the data and evidence needed to move beyond the integration of equity considerations. , towards the implementation of a gender-transformative mine action program in Ukraine,” MacLeod said.
Canada has long had a commitment to “women, peace and security” as part of its global affairs policy. The government explains on its website that Canada “knows that sustainable peace is only possible when women are fully involved in conflict resolution.” MacLeod cited a “set of policies” that incorporate “the particular interests and needs of women and men” and explained that Ukraine’s HALO initiative adheres to these commitments.
“In Ukraine, HALO has promoted gender equality in mine action, a traditionally male-dominated sector. This includes working in all program areas, from finance and human resources to operations management and explosive ordnance disposal. This includes providing fair and equal employment opportunities,” the spokesperson said.
Interior Ministry sappers defuse a landmine in a minefield after recent fighting in Irpin, near Kiev, Ukraine, April 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The official pointed to HALO’s lobbying efforts in 2017 to advocate for the participation of women as demining workers in Ukraine. According to a Canadian spokesperson, previous Ukrainian labor laws prohibited women from working as deminers, and HALO successfully advocated for this to be overturned.
Since then, the group has trained hundreds of women in “mine clearing, team leadership, intermediate care provision, and explosives recognition and disposal.”
Currently, 29% of HALO’s 1,127 member staff in Ukraine are women, according to data provided to Fox News Digital, and as the group grows, it is looking to increase the proportion of female staff, especially in senior positions. That’s expected, McLeod said.
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In this photo provided by the National Police of Ukraine, firefighters work to extinguish a Russian attack on an apartment building in the town of Uman, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Kiev, Ukraine, on Friday, April 28. It shows the figures of the warriors. 2023. (Ukraine National Police, Associated Press)
February 24 marks the second anniversary of Russia’s formal invasion of Ukraine, and Prime Minister Trudeau visited the Ukrainian capital to mark the anniversary.
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“On February 24, while in Kiev, Prime Minister Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a bilateral meeting to discuss the situation on the ground and Ukraine’s needs in the coming months, and the two leaders agreed to discuss security cooperation. Signed a new historic agreement establishing a strategic security partnership between Canada and Ukraine. As part of this commitment, Canada will provide Ukraine with a significant financial and financial commitment of $3.02 billion in 2024. We will provide military support,” the spokesperson added.
