First, given the current state of decay in the Haitian crisis, we can't really talk about elections. That's virtually a consensus in the country. We think that this aspect of the matter needs to stay in the hands of the Haitian people. Issues concerning the constitution, the electoral calendar and the permanent electoral council are internal matters for Haiti and concern only Haitians. Canada's role would therefore be to support proposals from Haitians.
Among the structured proposals, I spoke about the Montana accord which achieved a fairly broad consensus from several active sectors of society, including peasants, workers, and both left-wing and right-wing political organizations. That's what civil society is.
That's the starting point, because what we're talking about is the women and men who showed courage over the past two years, who met and came up with a proposal to make a break with impunity, administrative chaos and corruption.
I think that now, we need to focus and allow Haitians to take the time to work on this transitional period, to prepare society for the democratic transition we are talking about. This would allow the country to have real elections that are truly democratic and representative of the needs of the Haitian people. You don't hold elections just for the fun of it; you hold elections to create a society that matches what the majority of the people want. This transitional period is very important. Not only would it give people time to solve a number of problems, but also to establish a consensus within the population. It would allow the Haitian people to reconcile with themselves. That's partly what it's about as well. These are people who have suffered many years of glaring injustices and social inequalities.