Evidence of meeting #18 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was haitian.
A video is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here. Their testimony has been truly interesting and informative about the complexity of the situation.
Competing views are held by others in Haiti and in the Haitian diaspora.
Mr. Dieudonné, are you in favour of an intervention or not?
Master of Project Management, As an Individual
In fact, I'm not altogether in favour of an intervention. I'd say that if we have to intervene, it should be as the outcome of a common agreement with a traditionally structured committee consisting of daughters and sons of Haiti and the diaspora who have expertise, and technical people. We could also negotiate true agreements with those who wish to intervene and local people who would meet initially to deal with firearms issues.
It's true that there's a social problem, but what's causing the social problem? Why does the problem keep getting worse? It's because there are too many armed gangs who have international weapons and ammunition. The gangs have to be stopped at the source, upstream.
At the same time, there should be a joint intervention with specialists from Haiti and specialists from abroad, like Canada, to eradicate the problem. It can be stamped out and it can be targeted. Once two, three, four, or five gangs have begun to fall apart, I'm convinced that the others will get the message that it's the wrong way to go. At the same time, Haiti needs to develop.
It's important to learn from interventions that have been successful, and from recent UN missions that succeeded in places like Liberia, East Timor and Côte d'Ivoire. We've seen how they handled these matters. They succeeded because one state provided guidance for the missions, with the technical portion administered by independent structures.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I'd like to give the floor to Ms. Ismé.
I really appreciated your comments, Ms. Ismé.
Right now, do you have the impression that the Canadian government supported the very Haitian government that everyone is now denouncing?
Feminist Activist and Community Researcher, Coalition Haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haiti
Yes, that's correct, it's one of the criticisms made by most of the Haitian people on whose behalf I am speaking. There are some who are disagree, but not the majority.
We are censuring the Canadian government and other members of the Core Group for their unconditional support of the Haitian government, which is in different to the suffering of its own people, and contributing, through its inaction, to this ever-worsening crisis.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
You believe that one of the first thing that has to be done is for the Canadian government to completely cut off support to the current government in Haiti?
Feminist Activist and Community Researcher, Coalition Haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haiti
Exactly.
It's not only my view, but also of most of the Haitian people in the street demanding it.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank the witnesses for their comments.
Master of Project Management, As an Individual
I would just like to add that I don't believe there is a government in Haiti at the moment.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sameer Zuberi
We're now going to give the floor to Mr. Boulerice for four minutes.
NDP
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for joining us today.
Ms. Ismé, I'm very pleased to see that someone from Maison d'Haïti has come to testify in connection with this important study being conducted by the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
I'll continue to discuss what you said about how the Canadian government should stop supporting the Haitian government that you consider to be illegitimate.
A little earlier, we heard a lot about proposals to establish a national dialogue with the opposition forces and the prime movers of civil society.
What kind of mentoring work can the Canadian government do to effect this expected transition, which could take the form of new elections and a government that is more representative of the national will of Haitians?
Feminist Activist and Community Researcher, Coalition Haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haiti
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.
NDP
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
I think it's good to have this perspective in order to build solid, deep and popular foundations for a transition.
I understand that it's the right direction, Ms. Ismé, but in the shorter term, what can you suggest for problems like safety, food and the health system, so that we can help people?
We can't let this situation continue for months or years.
Feminist Activist and Community Researcher, Coalition Haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haiti
No we can't.
That's what I was saying in the recommendations I made. It requires mentoring based on real needs. It could strengthen national production, farming and road construction. Those are all things that can be done rapidly in the short term. Humanitarian aid is required, but also for matters of safety and security. I previously mentioned that national expertise had to be mobilized, but that material and logistical resources were also required, along with training and technical advice.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sameer Zuberi
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today and for their testimony.
This concludes our first day on Haiti.
I want to draw to everybody's attention that when we are considering the previous two sessions we've had, there was an agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
We are now going to adjourn this meeting. We have votes within 14 minutes in the House.
Once again, thank you to all the witnesses for being here.
The meeting is adjourned.
