Canada defends medical aid to Syria

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says $2 million of federal money for medical aid to Syria is not helping the regime of President Bashar Assad. Harper's Conservative government has come under fire since Sunday when Canada announced $10 million in aid to Syrians injured and displaced by the civil war that began in March 2011. Part of that aid package includes $2 million to the Canadian Relief for Syria group that isn't yet registered as a legal charity, Postmedia News reported. A spokesman for the group told the news agency it was founded late last year by three doctors, two engineers and a manager and was in the process of registering as a charity. The prime minister said he was confident civil servants had done their research before recommending the disbursement. "Our officials have done due diligence on all the organizations to which we've given money," Harper said in Toronto Monday. "I'm told they have the appropriate connections by which to deliver aid on the ground." Canada is one of scores of Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Syria for Assad's use of the military against civilians.