CP — The federal government's offer to match Canadian donations to disaster relief efforts in China and Myanmar turns out to be nowhere near as generous as it initially appeared.
Humanitarian groups have been disappointed to discover the bulk of donations they've received thus far - in the immediate aftermath of the disasters - won't be matched at all.
"It is certainly somewhat disappointing that we cannot count all the donations that we've received since the start of this crisis (in Myanmar)," said Kieran Green, communications manager for Care Canada.
"Nevertheless, matching funds certainly will help."
When International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced the matching funding May 15, she made no mention of any strings attached.
"Today, I am announcing that our government will match the contributions of Canadians to humanitarian organizations working in Burma and China," she told the House of Commons.
"Let me assure all Canadians our government will do our share of the international effort and ensure that our help does get to the victims and their families."
However, details subsquently posted by the Canadian International Development Agency revealed the government will match only those individual donations received by aid groups between May 15 and June 6.
That excludes all the donations that poured in immediately after the devastating May 2 cyclone in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and the May 12 earthquake in China.
Typically, humanitarian groups say the flow of donations is greatest within the first 72 hours of a disaster. Green said that was particularly true in the case of the Myanmar tragedy.
"In this case, particularly, we did see the bulk of our donations that we've received to date come in in that very early period and they diminished significantly by the end of the first week."
Green estimated Care and its partner groups in the Humanitarian Coalition have thus far raised about $200,000 through private donations from individuals for the relief effort in Myanmar.
He said some donors have asked Care to refund their original early contributions so they can make new donations that will be matched by the government.
The Canadian Red Cross reported it pulled in $555,500 in private donations from individuals for Myanmar and $1.1 million for China, all before May 15. Hence, none of those donations will be matched by the federal government.
Dave Toycen, president and CEO of World Vision Canada, said his group received at least $500,000 to $600,000 prior to May 15, which won't be matched by the federal government.
In the last two major international disasters - the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake in 2005 - the federal government pledged to match donations received by aid groups starting on the very day the tragedies struck, World Vision said.
Still, humanitarian groups are reluctant to criticize the government's response to the latest disasters, noting Ottawa is providing direct funding to various relief agencies in addition to the matching funds.
Oda pledged Friday an additional $12 million for relief efforts in Myanmar, in addition to the initial $2 million kicked in by the federal government. She has also pledged $1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross to help in the emergency response to the earthquake in China.
However belated or limited, aid groups are hopeful the promise of matching funding will encourage a second wave of donations from Canadians.
"All in all, I still have to say this is a positive thing," said Toycen.
"We know from past experience, when there is a match, it definitely lifts public giving. Even when it's further away from the onset of a disaster, our understanding with our donors is that people appreciate knowing that their gift in a sense is going to be doubled in its value."
