Canadian military plane heads home after two surveillance flights over Haiti
A Canadian Armed Forces surveillance plane was heading home on Tuesday after two intelligence-collecting flights over Haiti.
The CP-140 Aurora's return came after the Liberal government announced on Saturday that the plane was being deployed to collect intelligence on gang activity in Haiti.
Defence Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly also described the deployment at the time as a demonstration of Canada's commitment to Haiti, which has been battered by a series of crises.
Violent, feuding gangs have taken over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since last summer. A United Nations report last October said gangs are sexually assaulting women and children, in addition to curtailing access to health care, electricity and clean water.
The gangs have reportedly killed and kidnapped hundreds, while filling a power vacuum in a country led by politicians whose terms have expired. No elections have been held since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Military spokesman Capt. Graeme Scott said Tuesday the long-range surveillance plane was originally assigned to a U.S.-led counter-narcotics mission in the Caribbean before being tasked with conducting two flights over Haiti over two days.
"The CP-140 has been capturing information that will be used by the government of Canada to further assess the situation in Haiti," Scott said in an emailed statement.
"As the aircraft has now completed that information gathering, as part of Canada's response to the situation in Haiti, it is now on its way back to Canada."
It wasn't immediately clear how the information will be used, though Haiti's unelected prime minister, Ariel Henry, has requested a foreign military intervention, which Washington says Canada ought to lead.
The idea has proven divisive among Haitians, and Canada has instead sought a political consensus in the country, which includes sanctioning more than a dozen of the country's political and economic elites, accusing them of emboldening the gangs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

Police find 6 bodies, including 1 child, in St. Lawrence River
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
'Nova Scotians' sense of safety was rocked': RCMP failures dominate inquiry's final report into 2020 mass shooting
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Meet the Canadian astronauts up for a seat on the Artemis II mission to the moon
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.
Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
Memes, ski etiquette and that missing GoPro video: Highlights from the Gwyneth Paltrow trial
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
Facebook users consume more fake news than users of Twitter, other social media sites: Study
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
People may buy less alcohol when stores have non-alcoholic drinks on sale, study suggests
Researchers believe the availability of non-alcoholic drinks can help to combat drinking problems.
EXCLUSIVE | Security increased for prime minister's advisers after break-and-enter incidents
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
W5 HIGHLIGHTS
W5 Investigates | 'Canadians should be very concerned about their drinking water': W5 investigates asbestos cement pipes
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. Watch W5's 'Something in the Water' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.

Interactive | Map: Where are the asbestos cement pipes delivering drinking water in Canada?
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. An interactive map and chart on W5.CTVNews.ca shows where in Canada these asbestos cement pipes are being used.

W5 | Comedian Russell Peters doesn't pull punches in climate of 'cancel culture,' 'political correctness'
CTV W5 speaks with members of the comedy industry, including Russell Peters, for a wide-ranging look at how political correctness and 'cancel culture' has changed the world of stand-up comedy.

W5 EXCLUSIVE | New police force should be appointed to take over investigation into death of teenaged hockey player, complaint says
An Ontario couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin, who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
W5 | Parents of young player who died struggle to find answers within hockey's code of silence
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
W5 | 'So disturbing': Pivot Airlines crew shocked RCMP aware of possible cocaine shipment prior to Dominican bust
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
W5 Investigates | Pivot Airlines crew seeking justice after 'cocaine cargo' detainment
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.