Manitoba welcomes Gaza boy seeking medical help, other provinces called to follow – Winnipeg

A child from the Gaza Strip seeking medical treatment arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday, supported in part by the Manitoba government, and a federal cabinet minister called on other provinces to follow suit.

The 11-year-old Palestinian boy and his mother were greeted at the airport by Premier Wab Kinew, who said the province is already planning to welcome a second child in the coming weeks.

“We have always been a people who rise up in times of conflict and famine and natural disaster to help the innocent,” Kinew said.

Kinew did not name the 11-year-old boy or discuss details of his medical condition, citing privacy concerns. The boy, who had been in Egypt with his family, has a genetic condition that cannot be fully treated in the region, Kinew said.

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The prime minister gave the boy a small Canadian flag at the airport and spoke to him through a translator.

“He misses his other family members who he hasn’t seen in over a year now, and he wants to study to become an engineer when he’s older,” Kinew said.

Marc Miller, federal minister for immigration, refugees and citizenship, said children from Gaza have come to Canada for medical help, but it was the first time a provincial government has thrown its full weight behind the effort.

“We’ve had other provinces where we’ve had private sponsorship or hospitals sit down and say, ‘We’re going to treat these individuals,'” Miller said. “It’s a hell of a lot easier when a prime minister stands up and says, ‘I want to put my name behind it.’

“I think we can do more as a country.”

The child was identified with the help of Doctors Without Borders in Egypt and the federal government completed eligibility screening.

Non-profit groups in Manitoba have stepped up to provide housing for the boy and his mother, Kinew said, and the Islamic Association of Manitoba and other groups have offered financial support, food and more.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, children have been sent from Gaza to Qatar, various European countries and the United States for medical care.

Hamas’s Gaza Health Ministry says there have been more than 110,000 injuries during the war. A third of the 46,000 killed were children.

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