The Haitian crisis is at the heart of the debate in Canada, especially since the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ottawa last week. Indeed, the Canadian Prime Minister met on Tuesday, November 2 with the Incident Response Team to discuss the situation in Haiti. During this meeting, the group reiterated Canada’s commitment to collaborate further with its partners to support the security and stability of Haiti, according to a note from the Canadian Prime Minister’s office, a copy of which was sent to Zoomhaitinews and CaribbeantelevisionNetwork.
Took part in this meeting: the ambassador and permanent representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York, Bob Rae, the ambassador of Canada to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, and the ambassador of Canada in Haiti, Sebastien Carriere indicates the note.
During the meeting, the representative of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and former National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister, Daniel Jean, who led the interdepartmental assessment mission that visited Haiti from October 26 to 29, 2022, reported that the security and humanitarian situation in Haiti remains precarious and has been exacerbated by the takeover of key facilities and sites in Port-au-Prince by gangs, including the Varreux terminal – an important transportation and trade center.
Following Daniel Jean’s presentation, the group emphasized the urgency of restoring security and humanitarian access in the country and discussed how Canada and its partners, including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations, the United States of America, and civil society organizations can assist the Haitian people in this difficult time.
According to Canada is ready to take concrete steps with its partners to address the complex and immediate security and humanitarian needs of Haiti.
For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed “the importance of ensuring unimpeded access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected, holding those responsible for the unrest accountable, and working with partners to help achieve a Haitian-led solution to the current situation”.
At the end of the meeting, the head of the Canadian government and members of the ministerial cabinet reiterated Canada’s commitment to further collaborate with regional and international partners to support the security and stability of Haiti, the note concluded.
The Canadian assessment team dispatched to Haiti last week is continuing with its briefings and discussions with Canadian government authorities.
The Canadian ambassador to Haiti, Sebastien Carrière, had indicated that expectations are quite high in Haiti regarding Canada’s leadership role in the multinational force that will arrive in the country in November.
For now, the Canadian government is seeking a consensus among the population on how best to provide international support to Haiti.
According to Ambassador Wien Weibert Arthus before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday Wednesday, Canada is very well positioned to lead what could be an international mission that would be deployed to Haiti to help the authorities meet this immediate security need.