My dear committee members, I am here today with great interest, and how appropriately, to thank you for the opportunity you have given the Haitian community to testify on various aspects of the devastating earthquake that struck the capital of the Republic of Haiti on January 12. That was the day when Haiti didn't answer. There was no one at the other end of the line. The survivors did what they could, with what they had. May God continue to protect them. They are a faithful people.
The testimony I give you today relates to three essential components of the situation: Canadian pride, Canada's response, and hope.
On the subject of Canadian pride, I have to say that we, the members of the Haitian community, are proud to be Canadian citizens. We will still and always support the maple leaf. We live in a country where rights are protected, and that is no small thing.
Every time we have an opportunity, we ask for something for the Haitian community. We always seize the opportunity, because it is the only way and the only time we can meet with the people and structures responsible, who can allow us to move forward and make people aware of what is happening in the Haitian community. Ottawa is close to Montreal, but Ottawa is also far away from us.
The timely response of the Canadian government was expressed in concrete actions, including the deployment of the DART team of Canadian army specialists. That was the second time the team was deployed abroad since the tsunami in Asia. This meant providing drinking water for a category of forgotten people and providing immediate medical assistance to people who had not seen a doctor for years. The government expressed its desire to be close to the people in their distress by sending francophones, people who speak French, and people of Haitian origin in whose faces the victims could see themselves reflected.
I will not repeat everything that has been said by the people who spoke before me, but I confirm their words, because they are accurate and appropriate. I will add, however, that Canada has shown that it could lift itself above the fray when it came to flying to the rescue of a friendly country in its own neighbourhood.
The last point, but not the least, is hope. Canada gives us hope. That hope must not become dimmed. Canada must continue to support the victims and their parents and children. There are people suffering because they are unable to reunite their family. And especially, there are the ones who are unable to return to a devastated country. Port-au-Prince truly is Haiti. There are people without papers, refugee claimants waiting for a hearing. We know of nearly 2,000 people who are waiting for a hearing so they can get refugee status. There are people have been under a moratorium for over three years. We are asking what is going to become of these people, most of whom have no work permits. They cannot receive public services because they are neither citizens nor permanent residents. There are students who are no longer receiving support from their parents. Their dreams have been brutally shattered. We have to make sure they are not shattered forever.
Canada cannot slow down at the point when Haitian Canadians need its help the most. Organizations that provide support for the population are no longer receiving support from CIDA, in some cases. Life has to go on during the rebuilding. The people who were receiving that aid still need it, more urgently than ever, because of the displaced persons who are swelling the population in the rural areas. No, it cannot stop there. The Canadian government must not let the work already done, that was applauded by the entire population of Canada, of any origin, be overshadowed. Still today, the Canadian public is aware of the tragic consequences of that earthquake. They are ready to act to come to the aid of the people still living in Haiti and to integrate the people who want to join their families here into Canada.
On behalf of Help Services for Newcomers and Immigrants, which I represent today and which Mr. Bien Aimé will represent in a moment, I congratulate you on this initiative and thank you again for giving the Haitian community an opportunity to speak to you again about the other important decisions Canada will have to make to improve the situation of families and young people.
I will be prepared to provide you with suggestions during the question period. But before we get there, and before Mr. Bien Aimé introduces you to the organization and the services we provide to the displaced persons who are in Montreal, you may notice that the Haitian community is very united. The people came before you today to speak with one voice, to ask for the same things.
We will be in constant contact, from Hamilton, which we have only learned of today, to Ottawa, and from Quebec City to Toronto. I visit the Haitian community in Canada regularly. I have had an opportunity to travel around Canada in the course of my work with immigrants and refugees. This has given me a fairly broad idea of the views of organizations that work on settlement and resettlement of people living in Canada.
If the Canadian government gives these groups the resources, they can provide services to people from other places. We firmly believe, and I am the first to have done it, that people of Haitian origin can integrate into Canada, specifically within francophone groups in the various provinces, including the Fransaskois and Franco-Ontarian communities, and on the other side of the river, with the people of Gatineau.
I am going to stop there for the moment because I want to allow my colleague to address the question of immigration and services. I can then answer any questions you may want to ask me.