The bodies of two Canadian police officers who died in Haiti's massive Jan. 12 earthquake have returned to Canada.
A military aircraft carrying their remains landed Friday afternoon at CFB Trenton, east of Toronto.
Pallbearers carried the flag-draped caskets of Sgt. Mark Gallagher and Chief Supt. Doug Coates as relatives and Canadian dignitaries looked on, much in the same way Canadian soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan are received.
A motorcade travelled along Highway 401, also known as the Highway of Heroes, to Toronto.
Earlier in the day, an emotional ramp ceremony was held in Haiti, where the two Mounties were given a heroes' send off.
At the Port-au-Prince airport, the remains of Sgt. Mark Gallagher and Supt. Doug Coates were loaded onto a military plane as about 200 international police and troops from around the world watched in silence.
Coates was the head of the United Nation's police force in Haiti, and his death essentially left a leadership vacuum for the international officers. Gallagher was an experienced officer who had served for years in Atlantic Canada before heading to Haiti.
Eduard Mulet, a representative from the chief of the UN, said that Coates was a man who could take on issues other officers would ignore.
"Doug reached out to all sections," Mulet said. "He was looking to establish a new dynamic in which the mission would work more cohesively."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying that Coates was "a true friend of Haiti and the United Nations."
Coates had dedicated years to international police work, and he had been in Haiti on two previous missions.
The 50-year-old Gallagher was a program co-ordinator with the UN with years of experience as a public relations officer.
"Sgt. Gallagher was popular with his colleagues, with his pleasant demeanor and engaging smile," said Col. Ibrahim Moussa, who is now the UN's chief of police in Haiti.
Speaking after the ceremony, RCMP Supt. Jean-Michel Blais said Gallagher made a mark wherever he served.
"I knew of his reputation as being very well known by the community and the media and police agencies all throughout the Atlantic region," said Blais.
Severe congestion at the airport in Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince delayed the ramp ceremony honouring the officers by about two hours.
"The example of Doug and Mark will continue to inspire us and we will do our work thinking as much about them as all of those we will help here," said RCMP Insp. Michel Martin, who replaced Coates as the UN's acting police commissioner in Haiti.
The men were among a group of officers from Canada who were in Haiti on a mentoring program with the local police force. Their bodies were found amidst the rubble in Port-au-Prince days after the tremor struck.
Coates and Gallagher are among at least 17 Canadians who died in the quake. Almost 300 are still missing.
With files from The Canadian Press
