Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, distinguished members of Parliament, I sincerely than the committee for giving CONACOH the opportunity to testify. I will be expanding on the role of Canada since the earthquake, in terms of immigration.
Before that, allow me to briefly introduce CONACOH. The National Council of Citizens of Haitian Origin is an organization that was founded in 1981. It is a platform for coordination and non-partisan political representation for the Haitian communities in the provinces of Canada, and in particular Quebec. Its essential mission is to support its member associations and individual members in advocating for and promoting the collective rights and interests of the Haitian communities in Quebec and Canada. In that role, CONACOH assists in the harmonious integration of Haitian nationals in the host society, by encouraging participation by members of our community in the various spheres of activity in Canadian and Quebec society in relation to employment and to citizenship, education and health. Our mission is also to intensify solidarity activities with Haiti.
Since the earthquake in Haiti, our country of origin, on January 12, the Haitian community has mobilized. CONACOH was the instigator of a committee for solidarity with Haiti, whose objective was to forge links with all actors at various levels, provincial, federal, municipal and educational, and with members of civil society, to support our brothers and sisters here and to support our brothers and sisters in our homeland. The role we intend to play, in that capacity, is not one of support and solidarity with Haiti, but as an advisory body that can provide an informed view of the situation, because or member organizations and we are truly on the ground with people in need who tell us about their needs every day.
The National Council of Citizens of Haitian Origin, CONACOH, would like to congratulate and thank the various governments and government bodies for the promptness and speed with which they have responded, and also the public of Quebec and Canada for their generosity, their support and their solidarity after the disaster that struck our country of origin. We are proud to be citizens of Quebec and Canada. The effort being made at present is remarkable and is appreciated. We have welcomed the decision made to date and the way that actions have been coordinated. We are talking about decisions made and also the intention of making decisions.
My testimony this afternoon will essentially deal with immigration and the role Canada should play in relation to Haiti on the international scene. It can't be said often enough: an exceptional situation calls for exceptional measures, but the situation is urgent at present. More than 100 days after the earthquake, we have the impression, in terms of immigration, that nothing has happened in terms of admitting people directly affected. CONACOH is therefore addressing the government of Canada and saying that we expected, in terms of what we are calling for, at least that people without status would have their situations resolved within three to six months. It is now 100 days, more than three months after.
The other thing, which my colleague before me mentioned, is to make the family reunification criteria more flexible. That criterion needs to be more flexible and allow us to expand the concept of family to include other categories of family members: brothers, sisters and nieces.
We expected that Canada would be able to apply the same measures as those that the UN strongly supported and were applied in Canada in the case of the Kosovars, to allow the people to come directly here and follow the process in Canada. The process takes quite a long time in Port-au-Prince.
When you are in Montreal, you have the impression that Canada stops in Quebec. The federal government should think about developing a national program, in all the provinces and territories, to set a quota and admit Haitian nationals affected by the earthquake. We also think the measures should be harmonized. We know that at present, measures are being taken in Quebec, but we are convinced they are not being harmonized with Ottawa's. If we develop a coast-to-coast program, there has to be some degree of harmonization.
In terms of sponsorship, we think that corporate entities, that is, community organizations, churches and interest groups, can also act as sponsors.
Because of the emergency, we think an exceptional measure should be reinstituted. This type of measure would allow Quebeckers and Canadians of origin who want to, to host, for a limited time, six months, for example, orphans, disaster victims or other people. In some cases, people want to come to Canada, but only for the time it takes to get back on their feet a little.
At the international level, we think Canada should take a leadership role in relation to immigration and promote this exceptional measure to the leaders of friendly countries. That is where the example of the Kosovars comes in. Can Canada not present these cases to the UN and arrange for all the countries in the world that want to will admit people of Haitian origin who are victims of the earthquake?
We know that Canada is interested in rebuilding Haiti, but we want it to be increasingly effective, in terms of involvement. The Haitian diaspora, Canadians of Haitian origin, have to contribute.
Since January 12, a lot of community organizations, wherever they are, have been overloaded. That is the case in Montreal, in particular. They are more or less obliged to offer services. If we want to serve people who come from Haiti, we also have to think about offering financial support for those organizations. We are talking here about newcomers and people living in Canada who are fragile. There are a lot of seniors, children and families in distress.
The only other thing I want to say is thank you, on behalf of the Haitian community and the Haitian people, for having us here this afternoon.