Foreign Affairs Committee on May 31st, 2006

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

We'll try to keep it within about 10 minutes, if we can. Is that going to work?

[C/Supt David Beer]

Certainly.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, sir.

[C/Supt David Beer]

First, on behalf of the Commissioner of the RCMP I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to appear today.

The RCMP is justly proud of a long-standing tradition of assistance in international police development and of the highly successful partnership of the Departments of Public Security and of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian International Development Agency in deploying police to international peace missions and as partners in the Canadian Police Arrangement. In many ways the tradition and the partnership have been tempered by missions in Haiti.

The current United Nations mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, is the seventh since 1993. The RCMP and its Canadian policing partners have been involved in all of them, in addition to years of bilateral development assistance financed by CIDA.

While there have been successes, the context of our meeting today speaks to the failure to sustain and build on the successes. While I haven't, Mr. Chairman, prepared a lot of information with respect to our current activities, I have provided to the committee an appendix to my introductory speech that gives, first of all, an outline of the current activities as well as basically a chronology of police deployments to Haiti since 1994.

The committee has no doubt heard or will hear of the crisis situation in Haiti from many perspectives: human rights abuse, violence, poverty unequalled in this hemisphere, environmental degradation, the ineffectiveness of government and its institutions, class struggle, racism, the need for protection of women and children, and more. While my appearance here today focuses on policing in particular, we must not lose sight of the fact that there may be no aspect of Haitian society that is not in crisis. Haiti may be the quintessential example of what we call the “fragile state”.

In the mid- and late 1990s, the security environment was nearly perfect for focused development. There was no open violence between competing interests, and organized criminal activity as we see it today did not yet have a firm hold. Governmental attention went to policing development, not policing operations. Over 5,000 police were identified, trained, and deployed. Advanced programs were under way. There was continuity in leadership. Standards of performance and internal discipline were being established. Though there was much to do, progress was being made.

Today, the situation has changed. Organized crime—including drugs, weapons, kidnapping, and smuggling, in particular—has taken hold and seems to have been woven into the political fabric of the country. Corruption in the police and at all levels of bureaucracy is debilitating. The necessary attention to operations is complicated where violence is perpetrated by criminal and insurgent gangs, sometimes acting with political motivations and with tactics, weapons, and commitment that represent low-intensity guerilla warfare. Where there is no functioning justice system, this problem can be overwhelming.

Further, over 50% of the UN's 1,800 police resources on the ground are focused on security operations. Of the percentage available for development tasks, an important number have no Creole or French-language skills.

Financial and material commitment to police development by the international community in the 1990s was enormous but not well coordinated. Partnership was often impeded by state self-interest, sustainability mechanisms were absent, and accountability was inadequate.

In 2000, fatigued donors moved to other priorities at a critical time of Haitian government change. When we returned to Haiti in 2004 once again to address security and police development, it was evident that virtually nothing—equipment, materiel, infrastructure, or training—had survived theft, looting, wanton destruction, or in the case of training, the simple abandonment of principles and procedure.

Today the list of committed partners in Haiti is shorter. Though many countries self-identify as friends of Haiti, the United States and Canada continue to be the major committed donors in policing development. Still, Haiti's reliance on bilateral donors is clear, and donors, once burned, twice shy, need accountability and transparency if they are to contribute the millions necessary yet again.

Combine these elements—hesitant bilateral donors, a fledgling police organization rank with corruption, an uncertain security environment—and the challenges are evident.

We must commit to improving the justice sector as an integrated system. The dysfunctional judicial and corrections systems must be addressed in parallel with policing. Without parallel development no amount of progress in policing is sustainable. Vetting of corrupt, politicized officials must be addressed earnestly and urgently, as very visible signs of governmental commitment to change.

Predicting the future of policing in Haiti is no simple task. On the positive side, the major donors seem of one mind in terms of the challenges and strategies, and seem determined to stay the course over time. But we know there will be no magic solution and no quick fix. A new emerging plan will not look much different from plans that have been tabled before.

What remains an uncertain variable in the formula is the political will of the new Government of Haiti, a will wrapped transparently and characterized by commitment to fundamental justice reform, establishing the rule of law, addressing human rights issues, and tackling systemic corruption. Without it, no amount of resources or training, time or effort, will be enough.

A government committed to change will encourage donors, establish a basis for public confidence, and set standards of behaviour across the public sector. There will be no sustainable change in policing, or any other sector for that matter, without political will as the key in the lock. A Préval-led government demonstrated certain progress in the past. It must be quickly replicated and built upon. If justice is indeed the foundation of sustainable development in all sectors, the future of those Haitians who truly need our assistance depends on it.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, Mr. Beer.

Mr. Pétillon, did you have a presentation?

[Yves Pétillon, Program Director, Haiti, Cuba and Dominican Republic Americas Branch, Canadian International Development Agency]

No, it will be Madame Laporte.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

All right, we will go into the first round of questions.

Mr. Patry, five minutes.

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

First, I want to thank the representatives from CIDA and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Social Development for its sustained involvement in Haiti, as well as for the professionalism demonstrated by RCMP officers and police officers from across Canada. During my visit, I was able to see the extremely positive impact of their involvement. I wanted to tell you that officially.

My first question is for Ms. Laporte or Mr. Pétillon. I will come back to Mr. Beer later.

I have some other questions afterwards.

Mr. Préval has just been elected. He has appointed Jacques Edouard Alexis as prime minister, who will have the difficult task of forming the new government and presenting his vision for the country's future to both Houses.

Given that the party led by Mr. Préval has a minority in both Houses and that no political party has a majority in either House, do you believe that the newly elected political class has the majority required to set aside political differences and truly support Haiti's development?

We can develop all sorts of strategies, be it to reduce poverty, restart the economy, reinforce security or anything else until the cows come home, but without the cooperation of the newly elected political class, there can be no progress.

What is your opinion on this?

[Suzanne Laporte]

Thank you for your question. This goes right to the heart of the matter, meaning this country's transformation. You are correct, Mr. Patry, to ask what the political class will do.

I accompanied the Governor General to the inauguration of President Préval. During our four-day visit, we had the opportunity to meet with him on a number of occasions, as well as with other members, and we clearly heard a great deal about this will, this desire to begin a process of national reconciliation, dialogue, not only among the political class, but also with civil society. Our Governor General also delivered this message, and she encouraged Haitians to participate in this reconciliation.

I understand that the Préval government wants to begin a process of Estates General in the coming months, in order to strengthen a common vision for a major development project over a 25-year period.

Furthermore, in order to help the political class mature, CIDA has already committed along with the Parliamentary Centre here to help train newly elected representatives. Many of them have never been members before, they have never been elected, and they need to understand to some extent the democratic process and their role. They need the tools to analyze information and research subjects so that their interventions are not only anecdotal but rather based on disciplined work.

So, there is the political will, a process will be implemented with the Estates General, and, third, CIDA is providing assistance to the newly elected members.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Ms. Laporte, you mentioned the 2004-2006 Interim Cooperation Framework that has just been extended until the end of December 2007. Truly, this is an excellent decision.

What is your assessment of the impact of this cooperation framework over the past three years? Do you feel that very positive measures are being supported and that this is truly benefiting Haiti?

[Suzanne Laporte]

This framework has been in place for approximately two years. The donors have committed to providing a little more than one million dollars US. In fact, the international community has committed even more. Quite recently, I went to Brasilia with Mr. Van Loan to take part in a donor conference. We had confirmation that over $764 million had already been paid out.

Of course, the impacts on people's everyday lives are not so clear. People cannot see yet the impact on their wallets. However, this framework has created a solid foundation, including institutional reform. Work on infrastructure has already begun. In any case, it is impossible to expect to build the country in two years.

In my opinion, a common vision and a commitment are what is essential. Important objectives have received support. The international community and MINUSTAH have worked hard to ensure that the elections would take place and would be transparent. They were delayed over four times. Already, this important step bodes well for the future.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, Madame Laporte.

Madame Lalonde.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Good day, Ms. Laporte. I am going to put your speech in a safe place, particularly the beginning. That way we won't forget it.

I want to refer to the assessment report that the Canadian International Development Agency published in 2003, since you talked a lot about past initiatives. According to that report, the targets were not reached, because of the political climate in Haiti, the lack of will shown by the Aristide government and the excessive scattering of Canadian programs in Haiti.

In my opinion, the announced funding is insufficient, even if we consider the overall contribution being made by the international community. The report also states that Canada's contribution can be described as marginal, given the scope and depth of the problems. I believe that this also applies to the overall contribution.

It is not a matter of providing funds over which we would have no control. However, do you not believe that now, because there is a real government and not a transitional government in place, the entire international community involved — and, in passing, it should be expanded — should invest more? Haiti cannot be allowed to fail. It now needs the time and the means.

Mr. Beer, you are talking about security, but how do you see the disarmament? Do you agree with the ICG plan?

[Suzanne Laporte]

Ms. Lalonde, I want to thank my team, which worked hard to prepare this presentation. I think that you raised a fundamental point when you mentioned political will, the lessons learned and the right timing. Aristide was a big disappointment. In my opinion, when he came to power, the entire community rallied behind him. In fact, we had taken a positive position with regard to this new leader. However, he completely disappointed us.

The newly elected president, Mr. Préval, had already served and had not left the country. He is the only president to be re-elected.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

So this is positive.

[Suzanne Laporte]

He is the only one to have completed his term in office to have remained in the country, returned to his community and to have contributed to development. Already, this gives us an idea of his will and love for Haiti. We are not yet familiar with all his ministers, but he is surrounding himself with a competent technical team.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

So, you think they...

[Suzanne Laporte]

He is actively seeking competent individuals throughout the Haitian diaspora to rebuild the country. To me, this indicates very strong will.

It is clear now that he also has a very long-term vision. I think he showed great maturity when he said that he would attend the donor conference and present his social appeasement plan. He knows that security is important and that this plan will respond to the needs of all Haitians, not only those in urban centres—you discussed this earlier—but also everyone throughout Haiti, in all communities.

The World Bank and donor countries are currently working with him and his government to develop a long-term anti-poverty strategy. Therefore, obviously, in July, we will have an opportunity to reinforce the Interim Cooperation Framework, thereby providing a sufficient period of approximately 18 months to develop a long-term strategy. It will not be a strategy decided by donor countries, but rather by the Haitian government in consultation with Haitians.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Are you prepared to invest additional funds?

[Suzanne Laporte]

The government will have to make that decision.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

But that is your recommendation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, Madame Laporte.

Mr. Beer, yes.

[C/Supt David Beer]

The question was asked some minutes ago and I don't know if I jotted it down correctly.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

It was concerning disarmament.

[C/Supt David Beer]

I'm trying to find a polite way to answer the question. I served as police commissioner in Haiti last year. Frankly, the interim Haitian government of the day was preoccupied with other priorities. It was not interested in the disarmament program that was being offered by the UN, and at the same time, the UN didn't have sufficient resources on the ground to press home the resolve that was necessary to make it happen.

Soon, when it was apparent that progress wasn't being made, the focus operationally, administratively, and in terms of preparedness went towards the elections and the entire notion of disarmament, immobilization, and reintegration of military resources fell aside. That's the short story.

Over the long term, disarmament will be an extremely difficult problem in Haiti, simply because there are so many separate factions and groups who have armed themselves, both legally and illegally. Private security institutions have replaced or filled the gap created by the absence of legitimate security forces in the country. So over the long term, disarmament will be very difficult, and to be honest, I don't think the Haitian government will focus on disarmament as one of their major priorities.