Question Period Note: Allegations regarding Canadian funding for Union of Agriculture Work Committees

Allegations regarding possible linkages between Canadian funding for Palestinians and terrorist organizations.

• Canada rejects terrorism in all forms, and takes all allegations of terrorism seriously. Global Affairs Canada provides assistance for Palestinians through organizations with proven track records of delivering assistance effectively and in accordance with Canadian requirements.

• For all international assistance funding for Palestinians, Global Affairs Canada employs a formal enhanced due diligence process to ensure that funds are not misused or diverted to terrorist groups.
• The Department has taken note of the conclusions of an investigation into the Union of Agriculture Work Committees (UAWC) commissioned by the Netherlands.
• While Canadian-funded projects with experienced international and Canadian partner organizations have included UAWC as a sub-implementer in the past, the Government of Canada does not have any active projects involving UAWC.
• Global Affairs Canada has an ongoing project with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to support economic growth in the West Bank. The FAO has confirmed that UAWC's role in helping to deliver this project concluded some time ago.

In line with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada helps to meet the development and humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Canada exercises enhanced due diligence for all international assistance funding for Palestinians. This includes ongoing oversight, regular site visits, a systematic screening process, and strong anti-terrorism provisions in funding agreements.

On July 21, 2020, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation tabled a formal answer to a Parliamentary question related to allegations of linkages between the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - a listed terrorist entity in Canada - and the Union of Agriculture Work Committees (UAWC). The answer indicated that the Netherlands has suspended further payments to UAWC pending a review related to Israel's arrest of two suspects in a terrorist attack in the West Bank in 2019. The two individuals had been employees of UAWC and had received some compensation, via overhead, attributed to Dutch funding.

On January 5, 2022, the Government of the Netherlands caretaker Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Development Cooperation tabled a letter in Parliament summarizing the key findings of an 'external review' by an independent consultancy firm into possible links between UAWC and the PLFP, and the Dutch government's assessment and decisions in this regard. While the Dutch government will “no longer fund the UAWC's activities”, the letter also indicates that no evidence was found regarding financial flows between the UAWC and PFLP, and that the Dutch government's due diligence process was followed.

No projects in the current portfolio of Canadian assistance for Palestinians (involve UAWC. Past projects that did include activities implemented by UAWC were managed in accordance with Global Affairs Canada's enhanced due diligence process. An ongoing Canadian-funded project with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) supports economic growth in the West Bank; the FAO has confirmed that UAWC's role in helping to deliver this project concluded some time ago.

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