Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will provide $25,000 to the families of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet last week.
Trudeau says the money is intended to cover the cost of funeral arrangements or travel, which comes on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up processing times for visas for those affected by the tragedy.
Trudeau also made it clear that Canada still expects Iran to compensate victims, but that he knows families cannot wait any longer for support.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is in Oman to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, to talk about the shooting down of the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, which killed 176 people last week.
READ MORE: At least 14 people from B.C. among victims in fatal Iran plane crash
That meeting comes after Canada and four other countries with nationals aboard the downed airliner came up with a list of demands for Iran, which includes pressing that country to co-operate with the investigation.
The countries are also demanding that Iran punish those responsible and compensate the families of victims.
More to come.
The Canadian Press
