Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank and congratulate my colleague, the hon. member for Bourassa, for this important initiative. He has become a major expert on the situation in Haiti and, for that reason and many others, he is greatly respected and admired by Haitians, not only here in Canada but also in Haiti.
I would also like to recognize the work that the hon. member for Papineau has done for the Haitian community in Montreal. The hon. member for Papineau, the hon. member for Bourassa and I have many people from Haiti in our ridings. These are people of whom we are very fond.
I must say that I am somewhat familiar with Haiti having been there several times since 1994. It is a country for which I have a great deal of love and respect.
This emergency debate is completely necessary given the current situation in Haiti. We must gain a better understanding of and better define what is happening in Haiti. We must assess what the international community and Canada are doing on the ground, but we must also work together to determine areas in which we can improve.
What more can we do for Haiti, a country that has suffered so much and with which we have a very personal and even fraternal relationship?
Haiti has experienced difficulties throughout its history, and this year has been particularly cruel. It started with a devastating earthquake that ravaged the capital of Port-au-Prince and killed more than 250,000 men, women and children. The fallout was felt across the country. Add to that hundreds of thousands of injured and 1.5 million people who were displaced and left homeless. How many children were orphaned? We will probably never know the exact figure, but it is unimaginable.
The entire country was affected: its people, its infrastructure and even its political and organizational structure. The economic, political and human repercussions and consequences of this terrible tragedy are still frightfully evident today. I am thinking, for example, of the many displaced and homeless people who still do not have a permanent roof over their heads and who live in makeshift camps, not to mention the countless number of people and families who have been left with no income.
And now, more recently, there has been a public health catastrophe. I am obviously talking about the cholera epidemic that is sweeping the country. This epidemic has already killed more than 2,200 people and is endangering the lives of thousands of Haitians. On a more personal note, I can say that I have seen the effects of cholera in other parts of the world and they are absolutely devastating.
To top it all off, there is now a political crisis. We know that the country finds itself in a difficult situation and is in the throes of a major crisis because of the November elections, which were rife with irregularities. When the results of the first round of voting and the names of the two candidates who made it to the January 2011 run-off were announced, it sparked a wave of violence that has not subsided. Haitians do not believe that the election results reflect the ballots cast, their choice and their will.
This is ample justification for the emergency debate we are holding. It is urgent that we reflect, it is urgent that we understand, but even more importantly, it is urgent that we take action. It is clear that, if Canada, as well as the entire international community, does not immediately address this crisis, the Haitian people will face catastrophe on several fronts: epidemics, malnutrition, violence, and civil and political instability. We must work on all these fronts at the same time.
First of all, as we have said in the past and are saying again, it is imperative that the Canadian government immediately appoint a special envoy who will have both a political and diplomatic role among the local and international authorities in Haiti.
The hon. member for Bourassa has repeatedly expressed this hope, but we are still waiting.
More specifically, politically speaking, we need to work on fixing the democratic process as quickly as possible. Indeed, urgent action is needed.
We must also focus our efforts on other key stakeholders, in order to garner their support for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. In other words, we need to shake things up. We need to show leadership and urge our allies to get moving if we want our Haitian friends to progress peacefully.
There are many ways to resolve this crisis. That being said, whatever we do, we must respect the system in place as well as Haitian laws, from both a judicial and electoral standpoint.
We are all here this evening to figure out how we can help the electoral process in Haiti, and not to take the place of that country's decision makers.
We must look at how we can work together, but we must not try to take anyone's place. What is crucial in the long term is ensuring that this never happens again. We must work with the Haitian people, with institutions and other partners to ensure that the next time Haitians go to the polls, there will be appropriate monitoring and security measures in place to make the whole process transparent. We want to make sure the new president has a credible mandate and the legitimacy needed to govern. In other words, we need to learn from all of this in order to make sure it never happens again.
Regarding health, I also believe that CIDA needs to send an assessment team immediately to work directly on the ground, to talk to the people, to doctors and other authorities, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the aid being sent to stop the cholera epidemic.
There is one other important point. Some people have already pointed this out, and it bears repeating: we must absolutely ensure that the money makes it to organizations on the ground. That is absolutely essential. Canada has promised large sums of money to help Haiti, but so far it has allocated only part of that money. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been promised, but the money has not yet been allocated. This also needs to be corrected immediately.
Members may recall that the government made a number of announcements and promised hundreds of millions of dollar in aid. The Prime Minister and the ministers responsible for CIDA spoke about funds “distributed“—the terms are important here—and funds “promised”, but unfortunately, that is very different from the funds that have actually been delivered. It takes more than promises; it takes money on the ground. This confusion makes no sense when you see the generosity extended to Haiti by Canadians from across the country.
Lack of transparency is another serious problem. There has been some cloud or shadow, and we need to know a bit more in terms of how funds have been distributed. It is nearly impossible to find relevant information about Canada's priorities, planned expenditures or commitments in Haiti. Like everything else, this must be corrected.
As I said earlier, we have historic ties with Haiti. We are more than partners, we are friends—good friends, even—because we share common values and a language and we work together in institutions such as la Francophonie and others. And then there are the tens of thousands of Canadians of Haitian origin who are here. These people are an extraordinary addition to our society. Today they are part of Canada's social fabric.
To conclude, I would like to say that I have had the opportunity to visit Haiti a number of times, and I know the strength, courage and determination of the Haitian people. These people have always been able to rise up and today they will rise once again. It is our duty to be there with them.