Evidence of meeting #99 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ukraine.
A recording is available from Parliament.
6:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Thank you.
I know I speak on behalf of every member of this committee when I thank you for all the information you have provided us.
The meeting stands suspended for two or three minutes so we can allow for the other officials to join us.
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Welcome back, everyone.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee will now proceed to a briefing on the current situation in Haiti.
I'd like to welcome our witnesses. We're grateful to have with us here today three officials from GAC. We have Mr. Sébastien Beaulieu, director general and chief security officer, security and emergency management division; Madame Sylvie Bédard, director general, Central America and Caribbean; and Mr. Sébastien Sigouin, executive director, Haiti.
Thank you for appearing before us.
Am I correct in assuming that you have one opening statement?
6:20 p.m.
Sylvie Bédard Director General, Central America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
That's correct.
6:20 p.m.
Director General, Central America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes, I will.
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Okay. You have five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will go to questions from members.
Please look over at me every once in a while to make sure we're not going over the time allotment, not only when you're doing your opening remarks but also when members are asking you questions.
All of that said, the floor is yours, Madame Bédard. You have five minutes.
6:20 p.m.
Director General, Central America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Thank you.
My name is Sylvie Bédard and I'm joined by my colleagues Sébastien Beaulieu and Sébastien Sigouin. I will give you an overview of the situation in Haiti, Canada's response to it, as well as the impact the situation is having on our employees and on Canadians who are in Haiti right now.
On February 29, the situation in Haiti deteriorated significantly, as attacks by criminal groups against critical infrastructure caused the closure of the Port-au-Prince airport.
On March 11, under the leadership of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, the main Haitian political players reached an agreement and are currently working to form a transitional presidential council that will be responsible for appointing an interim prime minister and his cabinet. The forthcoming announcement of the transitional presidential council is seen as a positive step forward. Canada has signalled its readiness to work with Haitian stakeholders, CARICOM and international partners to support the full and transparent implementation of this agreement. We will continue to address the most pressing needs of the Haitian people.
Canada continues to take a comprehensive approach. The Government of Canada strongly believes that the future of Haiti depends on it having a stable and democratically elected government. Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations and I participated virtually in the March 11 meetings organized by CARICOM. Engagement by Minister Joly has also taken place to support the political dialogue and the upcoming multinational security support mission. The deployment of the multinational mission is critical to supporting the Haitian National Police in restoring security. Canada is providing $80.5 million to the mission, and we encourage more international partners to contribute.
Canada is also working with international partners to provide the Haitian National Police with the necessary resources to stabilize the situation until the mission arrives, to be fully engaged during the period when the mission is active in Haiti and to maintain law and order after the mission departs.
Given the uncertain security situation, on Thursday morning, March 14, we temporarily reduced our staff at the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince. These people have been temporarily transferred to the Dominican Republic. The operation was carried out by chartered helicopter. Our ambassador remains on site, along with a team that will maintain our diplomatic involvement as well as security and consular functions.
This adjustment allows us, first and foremost, to ensure a safe, sustainable and operational Canadian presence; to fulfill our responsibilities to our employees; and to continue to provide essential services to Canadians on the ground, from within Haiti, within the region as well as from our emergency watch and response centre in Ottawa.
The embassy in Port-au-Prince is temporarily closed to the public, and we are providing consular services remotely.
The security situation remains volatile. A state of emergency was invoked on March 3. Flights have been cancelled since March 4, and our travel advisory to Canadians since October 2022 has been to avoid all travel. We are communicating with close to 3,000 registered Canadians via our messaging system. Since March 3, we've had just over 150 calls. Some were general inquiries, while others related to immigration and departure options.
As part of our emergency preparedness mandate, we are working on prudent contingencies with our domestic and international partners. We continue to monitor and assess the security situation very closely, and we continue to advise Canadians to shelter in place and to contact us for any assistance.
This concludes my remarks. I would like to thank committee members for their attention and engagement on this important issue.
6:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Thank you very much, Madame Bédard.
Before we start with questions, is it still the will of the members to set aside 15 minutes at the end for committee business?
6:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
6:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Okay.
For this round, we will have five minutes per member, and we'll start with Mr. Hoback.
You have five minutes.
6:25 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
Where do I start?
First of all, I want to thank you for the work you guys and the ambassador have been doing in Haiti. It's not an easy job or an easy place.
I had a constituent who was stuck in Haiti. They managed to get out this morning by helicopter, so there's some good news. I'm also hearing stories of people walking across the mountain to get across Haiti, taking serious risks.
Do you see the ability to get people out of Haiti improving in the near future, or is this one of those situations where they'll just have to buckle down and try to stay as safe as they can until things stabilize?
6:25 p.m.
Sébastien Beaulieu Director General and Chief Security Officer, Security and Emergency Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
The advice to Canadians currently is to shelter in place and to make sure they have enough food, water and medicine for the forthcoming period.
Unfortunately, I can't speculate on how things will evolve, but be assured—my colleague Madame Bédard mentioned prudent planning—that we are actively planning a range of options in case they become necessary.
6:25 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
Looking back, we know this has been going on for a while. This has been getting worse, not just in a matter of a short period of time, but over a year or two years—basically since 2022.
Who in the international community was dragging their feet in having some sort of reactionary process put in place to try to head this off before it got to such a bad place? Was the U.S. dragging its feet? Was it Canada? Was it other Caribbean partners? Why was it allowed to fester to this point?
6:25 p.m.
Director General, Central America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Mr. Chair, let me begin by saying that no one is indifferent to the situation in Haiti. Everyone agrees that action is urgently needed and that Canada is very much involved.
Canada has been doing a lot for Haiti for a long time. That was the case in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. It was also the case when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021. It's definitely the case now, in our response to the spiralling security situation.
Over the past two years, Canada has invested more than $380 million in development assistance, humanitarian aid, support for the Haitian National Police and the justice sector. Just recently, Canada contributed $80.5 million to the Kenyan-led security mission in Haiti.
6:25 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
I hear you. That's all good, and I want to compliment you on doing that, but in the same breath, the situation seemed to get worse and worse, even though we were adding more money to it. It seems like we are not being impactful in how we are spending that money and how we are doing the training. Maybe I'll stop there.
Looking forward, a lot of Haitians who now live in Canada are looking at their relatives. Provided we can get in there and provide some stability with the Canadian Forces—or however we see that happening or unfolding—there is still going to be a situation, for example, with hospitals, doctors and those types of things.
Do we have military resources that are going to be stationed on a ship outside of Haiti? Are there other things being considered to provide that assistance, as there were when the earthquake happened?
What game plans are being made just to provide humanitarian aid once you get a stable situation? I ask because there is going to be a lot of need and a lot of requirement for it.
6:25 p.m.
Director General, Central America and Caribbean, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Mr. Chair, Canada's $380 million in assistance to Haiti specifically has been provided over the past two years. A large portion of this assistance is dedicated to developing humanitarian aid. We are in constant contact with our partners on the ground to overcome obstacles and challenges related to the delivery of this development and humanitarian aid.
You may have heard that, for two days now, the UN has been able to allow an air bridge to be set up. The organization is using one of its helicopters to allow goods to be brought into Haiti, mainly medical supplies for the time being, to address emergencies on the ground. There are a lot of discussions right now with our partners to see how we can continue to facilitate the delivery of basic commodities to Haitians who are in an extremely critical situation.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
6:30 p.m.
Liberal
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
We have, again, lots of Haitian families looking at relatives. Are we going to allow temporary visas? Are there any talks or discussions in regard to providing relief that way?
6:30 p.m.
Liberal
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
6:30 p.m.
Director General and Chief Security Officer, Security and Emergency Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
There's a broader immigration program in place for the Americas. I understand that's being discussed in a parallel committee with my colleagues from Immigration Canada.
6:30 p.m.
Liberal
March 20th, 2024 / 6:30 p.m.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I'll continue in the same vein as my colleague Mr. Hoback by asking questions on the same subject.
In my riding, there's a large Haitian community with a lot of family in Haiti—sisters, brothers, relatives. They are being told to stay put, even the Canadians, but the people in my community want to bring their families to Canada. They're very worried about their safety.
Can you tell us more? What discussions are taking place right now with the immigration department to help people in this situation?
Many have already applied to be sponsored, receive visas and be granted temporary stays, which are in the system. Are we going to speed up these processes?
6:30 p.m.
Director General and Chief Security Officer, Security and Emergency Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Mr. Chair, I will answer that question from the member, whom I thank for her question.
At the Department of Foreign Affairs, we deal with issues that fall under the consular services. Unfortunately, we can't answer your question, which is actually the responsibility of the immigration department. It would be better dealt with by my colleagues, who happen to be appearing before some of your colleagues in another room.