Canadian doctor shot by Israeli sniper asks Trudeau to fund Gaza hospital project

MONTREAL, Canada - A Canadian doctor who was shot by Israeli forces last month during protests in the Gaza Strip has taken his fight for health-care access for Palestinians to Ottawa, the Canadian capital.

Dr Tarek Loubani is asking the Canadian government for $15m Canadian ($11m) to help expand a longstanding project that aims to bring 24-hour electricity to medical facilities in the besieged coastal enclave.

The renewable energy project, known as EmpowerGAZA, involves installing solar panels on the rooftops of hospitals and medical clinics across the blockaded coastal territory.

So far, three hospitals in Gaza have been equipped with solar panels.

The $11m investment would pay for the installation of solar panels on about nine other hospitals, as well as 50 medical clinics, explained Loubani, an emergency physician based in London, Ontario.

Loubani met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this week in Ottawa, as well as several parliament members from all the major political parties, all of whom welcomed the idea, he said.

"I was very happy to see the general Canadian mood - that the health concerns of Palestinians in Gaza have to be taken seriously - reflected in their representatives from all parties," he told Middle East Eye in a telephone interview.

"I think all the parties agree that we have to do something about the desperate health conditions that currently exist in Gaza," he said.

The image, tweeted by the prime minister's office, shows Trudeau sitting directly across from Loubani, at a meeting earlier this week.

The prime minister's office redirected MEE to the Ministry of International Development.

Louis Belanger, director of communications in that ministry, said the department was "not currently in a position to comment specifically on Dr Loubani's proposed project."

"We salute the humanitarian work that Dr Loubani has done in Africa and the Middle East, especially today as we mark World Refugee Day," Belanger told MEE in an email.

He said Canada "remains deeply concerned" about the humanitarian needs of Palestinians, and acknowledges that "the limited supply of electricity exacerbates the situation."

Helene Laverdiere, an MP for the New Democrats and the party's foreign affairs critic, said on Twitter the NDP supports Loubani's request.

She urged "the Canadian government to fund this initiative, which will save lives in #Gaza".

Gaza's health-care network has been on the brink of collapse for several years, with frequent electricity cuts limiting available services and a shortage of medical supplies resulting from a strict blockade on the territory imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt.