Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 2nd, 2022

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you.

Given the over $1.8 billion paid that Canada has—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Mr. Epp, you're well over your three minutes.

Perhaps we could go to Mr. Zuberi, please. You have three minutes, Mr. Zuberi.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will be sharing my time with my colleague Ms. Bendayan.

Thank you for being here, Ambassador Arthus.

There is a large Haitian community in my riding. I'm sure Canadian and Quebec citizens are very interested in your testimony.

You briefly discussed solutions. Would you please tell us a little more about the solutions being advanced in Haiti and how Canada can implement them?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

There are important lessons to be learned here. In the past 20 years, Haiti has been a fertile ground for NGOs. I'm not opposed to humanitarian aid, but humanitarian aid and charity won't help improve the situation. The emphasis has to be on the economy for the situation to recover over the long term.

A lot of money will have to be invested. Canada obviously can't do it alone, but it can provide leadership and recruit other partners. However, we mustn't be afraid to tell the truth: Haiti is a country that has been destroyed from a security standpoint and doesn't have a functioning economy. There's no infrastructure in the country. Schools and the Port-au-Prince cathedral haven't been rebuilt since the earthquake, nor has the Palais national either. I'm obviously not asking Canada to rebuild it. I cite that example more to illustrate the situation, as it will give you an idea of the state the country 12 years after the earthquake.

Those are ideas for solutions that could be put in place.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Thank you.

I now yield the rest of my time to my colleague.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Your Excellency, thank you once again for being here.

Several thousands of Haitians from my community in Montreal are obviously concerned about the situation in Haiti. As you are no doubt aware, thePrime Minister is currently discussing the situation in Haiti with the ministers concerned. Your appearance on Parliament Hill is important for our government.

I'd like to ask you a question in the wake of the UN report on sexual violence and rape committed in Haiti. As I understand it, sexual violence is used as a weapon of war and is being committed against Haitian women and young girls.

I'd like to understand how you view the situation on the ground and to know how Canada could help the women in Haiti.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

The situation is very complicated for women.

An individual very close to me was kidnapped in early September. It happens every day.

My female cousins, who live on the plains, send me voice messages explaining that they have to leave because rape is one of the weapons that the gangs use.

What forms should the aid take? How can we help women?

This goes back to what I said earlier. We need a very clear plan on how to help Haiti.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

That's a very important element; there has to be a plan.

Do you think that plan exists?

Is there a plan to achieve the degree of success in the event Canada provides aid to Haiti?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Ms. Bendayan, you're very much over your time period, very much so. Thank you.

We will go to Mr. Bergeron. You have a minute and a half, Mr. Bergeron.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

You said that the armed gangs are better equipped than the Police nationale d'Haïti, the PNH. On October 15, Canadian and American military aircraft transported to Port-au-Prince the security equipment the Haitian government had purchased, including tactical and armoured vehicles and other supplies.

My understanding is that isn't enough. We need an international force to cope with the armed gangs. Is that correct?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

I know the police used that equipment yesterday. They also conducted an operation in Pernier, east of Port-au-Prince. I acknowledge that the police are making considerable efforts on the ground, but, the situation being what it is, even though those efforts are enormous, they may not be enough.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

That's tantamount to saying that, although the Haitian government has purchased this equipment to deal with the criminal groups, it won't be enough to defeat them. You'll really need support from the international community to do that.

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

No more equipment has been delivered yet. Perhaps we should wait for it to arrive and see what the result is.

We'll have to consider the PNH's new strategy to determine where we stand. I don't exactly know when the equipment will be delivered or how well defended we'll be.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

I'm going to go very briefly back to Ms. Bendayan's question.

Is there a plan in the event an international force is deployed?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Mr. Bergeron, we are now well over a minute and a half.

We are considerably over time. Everyone is going over the time limit. I would ask all members, out of courtesy for our colleagues, to please stick to the time limits to the best of our abilities, please.

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Chair, I have a question of privilege.

I think that we all have a lot of questions and we are learning a lot from the excellent testimony of the ambassador, so I'd like to know if we can send you questions in order to send to the ambassador and maybe he will reply through the clerk. It would help a lot for our report on Haiti.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Absolutely, I don't see any problems.

Is it acceptable, Mr. Ambassador, that we forward questions to you and you could kindly send the answers back to us?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

Of course, Mr. Chair.

I will be very pleased to do so.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. We are very grateful indeed.

We will go to Ms. McPherson. You have a minute and a half, Ms. McPherson.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I will be very close to that minute and a half, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

I have heard you.

Mr. Ambassador, again, thank you very much for being here. As my colleague has stated, it's been very interesting.

You talk about the need to rebuild, the need to be there, and what I'm hearing from you is that a commitment to long-term predictable funding would be most beneficial to Haiti as Haiti rebuilds its country. Is that accurate?

[H.E. Wien-Weibert Arthus]

Yes.

I can provide a guarantee, and I can say that the MPs who have significant Haitian communities in their ridings can do the same: the members of the Haitian diaspora in Canada and other countries are prepared to cooperate, invest and work in Haiti. In other words, Canada will not be the only country involved in this effort to rebuild the country's economy. I'm certain that the Haitian diaspora in Montreal and across Canada is just waiting for the right moment to invest in Haiti.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you.

I have 10 seconds left, but I will say that something I've always struggled with is our inability as a country to be there for the long term. I would urge Canada to have that predictable long-term funding.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Ms. McPherson. You're the first person who has actually managed to do it within the prescribed time limit. Thank you.

We now go to Mr. Aboultaif. You have three minutes, sir.