Encourage Government of Canada to help Rotary eradicate polio
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8 March 2017 Dear Canadian Rotarians: I am pleased to advise that C$250,000,000 that the previous Canadian Government had committed in 2013 for Polio Eradication world-wide, of which C$12,000,000 was designated to match contributions made through or by Canadian Rotary Clubs, has been fully paid. |
Our Rotary Advocacy Committee, together with representatives from The World Health Organization and UNICEF, have had meetings in Ottawa with Government Ministers and Senior staff. We have asked the Government to pledge a further C$150,000,000 to world-wide polio eradication initiative. We also suggested that some portion of those funds be allocated to match fundraising efforts in Canada by Rotary Clubs.
You can encourage the government of Canada’s continued support for polio eradication by signing a petition that can be found on the House of Commons website:
https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-798
Our goal is to obtain 25,000 signatures on this petition by May 30, 2017. Please encourage all of your friends and relatives to assist us by signing the petition. We also encourage you to call or write to your MP to request support for this issue, and to encourage him or her to communicate that support to Marie Claude Bibeau, Minister for International Development and to Prime Minister Trudeau.
With the centenary of The Rotary Foundation, and the 150th anniversary of Canada, 2017 promises to be a great year. Our continued collaboration may also result in the interruption of polio transmission which would be a fantastic achievement to celebrate at the Rotary International Convention in Toronto in 2018.
Thanks for your continued work to END POLIO NOW.
Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, CM
President, Rotary International, 2007-08
National Advocacy Advisor for Canada