Canada commits to continue hurricane aid

The Canadian government is committed to extending further aid to Antigua and Barbuda and other countries hit by September’s hurricanes.
This is according to Marie Legault, the High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, in an interview with OBSERVER media.
”Antigua and Barbuda, as well as other countries in the region who have suffered from the recent hurricanes, Dominica and others, are very much at the forefront of our thinking. There is a pledging conference on November 21, at the U.N., we will be there.”
The Canadian envoy noted that they have been helping the disaster-hit countries since early September. 
“We will do a few things that are more flexible because we have a few funds here and there. We’ve already supported the Red Cross here and we will support it even more, we’re looking at rehabilitating a few buildings but on a more strategic front we will wait for New York,” Legault said. 
The high commissioner on Tuesday inked an agreement with Prime Minister Gaston Browne for the two countries to exchange tax information to tackle tax evasion. Browne took the opportunity to further his plea for international assistance to help rebuild Barbuda.
Barbuda and Dominica have been the hardest hit by Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria. Tourism and agriculture, the major economic earners, were both wiped out.
The cost of Maria’s damage on Dominica has been estimated as U.S. $1 billion while no final figure has been attached to the losses on Barbuda. However, the Antigua and Barbuda government has said that rebuilding the island’s public infrastructure would cost upwards of U.S. $200 million.
This month’s donor conference is to be held in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme at the U.N. Headquarters in New York.