Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I also thank Mr. Grant very much, and Ambassador Carrière for being with us today. I would also like to recognize my colleague Emmanuel Dubourg, member of Parliament for Bourassa, who is on the committee today and who represents a very strong voice for the Haitian-Canadian community within the federal government.
It is clear that the relationship between Canada and Haiti is extremely important. I am very proud of the support that Canada continues to provide to that country. This support includes, of course, the additional $50 million in development assistance announced just a fortnight ago, but also approximately $90 million contributed annually, making Canada the second-largest donor to Haiti, after the United States.
We all agree that Canada has an important role to play and that it must do more. The assassination of President Moïse shocked the world, including the large Haitian diaspora in Quebec, which numbers about 143,000 people. We also know that today's meeting is taking place on a very special date. In fact, today is the day that President Moïse's mandate would have ended, but it has not, since Ariel Henry is the provisional president and Haiti is in the grip of a major political crisis. About a month ago, provisional president Henry himself had to be rescued from a shootout between his security guards and gang members that took place during an official ceremony.
We all say here that the solution is going to come from the Haitian people, and, of course, it is, but given the current situation, I would like to hear from our witnesses on how Canada could best support the Haitian people. The $50 million in aid is very important, but how can we ensure that this money gets to the ground quickly to have the best possible effect for the Haitian people?