Harper says long-term challenge in Haiti is to rescue 'shattered society'

Publication date: 22 January 2010

By Stephen Thorne (CP) – 22 January 2010

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the long-term challenge facing Canadian and other relief efforts in quake-stricken Haiti amounts to nothing less than "the rescue of a shattered society."

Canadians are profoundly moved by the suffering in Haiti and through words and actions they have asked the government to do everything in its power to help, Harper told the Conservative caucus on Friday.

Led by the Canadian Forces, co-ordinated by Canada's diplomats and involving a "small army" of emergency-aid workers, Canada's relief effort is unprecedented, said the prime minister.

"Their challenge in the coming days and weeks as part of the multi-national relief effort amounts to nothing less than the rescue of a shattered society," Harper said.

"And the even larger task in the months and years that will follow is to rebuild Haiti, to transform its unimaginable grief into a sustained hope for the future."

He promised Canada will remain steadfast in its commitment to assist Haitians and to "help them find their way to hope."

U.S. President Barack Obama called Harper Friday, the Prime Minister's Office said in an email. The two men discussed the continuing international efforts to help Haiti, the PMO said. They also discussed international developments and the importance of continuing to work together on security issues.

Even before the Jan. 12 quake, Haiti was Canada's No. 2 foreign-aid recipient, after Afghanistan. In 2006, Ottawa pledged $555 million over five years to alleviate poverty and boost development in Haiti.

Canada has committed up to $135 million in additional funds to the relief effort, and ordinary Canadians have donated more than $40 million to aid groups working in the disaster zone.

Estimates of the total number of dead in the magnitude-7.3 quake now number 200,000 or more. Two million have been left homeless.

The number of confirmed Canadian deaths was at 17. There were 283 Canadians still missing in Haiti, 1,765 had been evacuated by Friday.

Ottawa estimates there were more than 6,000 Canadians in Haiti when the earthquake struck.

About 1,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air crew are on the ground or off the coast of Haiti and that number is expected to double over the next week.

The first 86 Haitian children whose adoptions were underway before the quake are to begin arriving in Canada as soon as Saturday after Ottawa eased restrictions and requirements to fast-track the process.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Haitian authorities have given their necessary approvals to begin the process of moving the children, now totalling 154.

The first 86 children represent cases that are in an "advanced stage of administration," Kenney said after the caucus meeting. Some of the remaining cases are awaiting approvals from provincial agencies.

"We are in constant contact with the provinces - most recently this morning - encouraging them to do whatever they can to certify the applications for adoption by the parents so that we can bring those children to Canada," he said.

Kenney said officials would be notifying parents as to arrival times as soon as they are known.

"This is obviously a situation that is very fluid. To be perfectly honest, we probably won't know with absolute certainty the full list of children that will be on the first flight until it takes off from Haiti.

"We ask people to be as patient as they can in the final stages of this process," he added. "We understand the anxiety of parents; we just assured them that we are doing everything we can to protect the best interests of their soon-to-be adopted children."

Usually, Haitian adoptions take two years. Some of the applications now on the fast-track are only weeks old, Kenney added.

The Haitian-Canadian community numbers about 135,000, most of it based in Quebec.

Immigration lawyers are offering free legal consultations and immigration application preparations for those who want to sponsor family members affected by the disaster.

The members of the citizenship and immigration law section of the Canadian Bar Association announced Friday the offer applies to those who qualify for Ottawa's special immigration measures program.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has promised to fast-track applications under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from those with family members directly affected by the quake.

Kenney repeated Friday his assertion that his government will not loosen immigration restrictions to accommodate more quake victims. Opposition leaders have been calling on the Tories to expand the definition of "family" to do just that.

"You have to keep a coherent definition of family - coherent for all eventual immigrants from different countries of origin," Kenney said Friday.

Under a longstanding agreement with Ottawa, Quebec can choose immigrants under its own criteria.

Kenney has spoken to Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James, who told him the province was exercising its authority to accommodate Haitian evacuees.

"I told her ... 'we're there to facilitate you.' But we were clear that we are not increasing the immigration quota for permanent residents in the province of Quebec. And she was quite clear herself that Quebec will act in a limited fashion and according to its own capacity to integrate."

The federal government is "exercising a certain amount of flexibility with respect to applicants who want to come to Canada," he added.

As a result, he said, Ottawa has issued 250 temporary-resident permits to normally unqualified Haitians since the disaster.

Said Kenney: "I will not change the Immigration Act for any dependant in the country of origin."

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was forced to abandon a planned meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Friday due to mechanical problems with his aircraft.

Cannon said the two instead talked by phone about a range of issues and agreed to step up attempts to better co-ordinate efforts in Haiti.

Cannon is hosting foreign ministers from the Americas and France in Montreal on Monday. The delegates from a dozen countries and the UN are to include Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.

The one-day meeting will begin long-term planning for Haiti's reconstruction.

Those with applications to adopt Haitian children already in progress can seek information from the federal government at 1-888-242-2100 (7am to 7pm ET) or 24/7 by emailing adoptions-haiti(at)cic.gc.ca

Countries: Canada, Haiti