Determined to show Canada's commitment to help the victims of the south Asian tsunami, federal cabinet ministers have announced a number of new aid initiatives.

Flanked by Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and International Co-operation Minister Aileen Carroll, Defence Minister Bill Graham told reporters the federal government is following a "multilateral, multidisciplinary and multifaceted" approach to relief efforts.

That includes the $40 million in aid announced so far, as well as the imminent departure of a 17-member reconnaissance team charged with determining the need for Canada's crack military emergency response unit, DART.

They will arrive in Sri Lanka on Saturday, Graham said, after which they're headed for Indonesia.

"We are also responding with a new initiative that will see the Government of Canada match the generosity of Canadians dollar-for-dollar," Graham added.

Explaining the program, Minister Carroll later said that Ottawa will match cash donations to a number of Canadian organizations, retroactive to Sunday's massive 9.0-magnitude quake.

"We will match donations until January 11, at which point we will reassess the needs of the area," she told reporters in Ottawa.

The Canadian Red Cross, Oxfam Canada, Save the Children, World Vision and Medicins Sans Frontieres are among the groups included in the initiative, she said.

When pressed, however, the ministers conceded that the funds for the dollar-matching scheme would be drawn from the $40 million in federal funds already pledged to tsunami relief.

The contribution remains generous enough, though, to rank Canada as the top per capita donor.

Debt Moratorium

When Pettigrew spoke, he prefaced his remarks by noting the efforts of his department staff who have been hard at work since the first moments of the disaster.

"Within minutes of when the Earth moved," Pettigrew said, "Foreign Affairs was on the front lines... adapting to an unprecedented and extreme situation."

Then he announced, on behalf of Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, that Canada is freezing debt repayment for the hardest-hit countries.

"In addition to helping with the urgent humanitarian need in the region," he said, "Canada will put in place with immediate effect and for the foreseeable future, a debt moratorium for the tsunami-effected countries.

"In this way we will address not only the immediate crisis, but also provide significant support in helping the rebuilding efforts of these countries."

That doesn't mean the debt will be forgiven, just that payments totalling an estimated $1 billion will be delayed.

Earlier Thursday, the governments of Ontario and Alberta each announced $5 million donations to the international relief effort. Less than 24 hours earlier, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said his province hoped to set an example with a pledge of $8 million directly to the Canadian Red Cross.

The world's richest nations have pledged more than $250 million US in emergency aid. And on Thursday, the World Bank pledged an additional $250 million US to what UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called "an unprecedented global catastrophe.''

At the Ottawa briefing on Thursday, Minister Graham reiterated that cash donations are currently the most effective means of helping people in the disaster-stricken region. For those interested in making a donation, here's contact information for some of the key agencies.

Canadian non-governmental organizations:

• Canadian Red Cross 1-800-418-1111
• CARE Canada 1-800-267-5232
• UNICEF Canada 1-877-955-3111
• Oxfam Canada 1-800-466-9326
• Doctors Without Borders 1-800-982-7903 or 416-964-0619

Faith and community groups:

• Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace 1-888-664-3387
• Canadian Tamil Congress 1-416-751-8777
• Canadian Relief Organization for Peace in Sri Lanka 1-416-429-2822
• Christian Children's Fund of Canada at 1-800-263-5437
• UJA Federation of Greater Toronto at 416-631-5705
• Salvation Army Canada 1-800-725-2769
• World Accord 519-747-2215 locally or 800-525-3545
• World Vision 1-800-268-5528

Prepared with files from CTV News