Canada sends military aircraft into Haiti's skies as gang violence escalates
Canada has sent one of its military planes to Haiti to help the country cope with escalating violence.
A joint statement today from National Defence Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada has deployed a CP-140 Aurora aircraft to help "disrupt the activities of gangs" in Haiti.
Gang violence has become a reality for those living in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since last summer, with hundreds having reportedly been kidnapped and killed.
The UN has also said gangs are restricting access to necessities like health care and water and are also allegedly sexually assaulting women and children.
Haiti's political and humanitarian crisis has led to calls for Western countries to intervene, with the Canadian government saying the aircraft deployment comes in direct response to Haiti's request for help.
The government says the patrol aircraft is currently in Haiti and will remain there "for a number of days" to help with surveillance and intelligence efforts.
The aircraft deployment is the latest step the government has taken to assist Haiti, and not indicative of a military intervention.
Other support measures to date include levying sanctions against individuals it views as responsible for the violence in Haiti.
"The deployment of a Canadian patrol aircraft will strengthen efforts to fight criminal acts of violence and to establish the conditions necessary for a peaceful and prosperous future," Anand said in Sunday's statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Border concerns, defence priorities: Wide range of topics to discuss during Biden's official visit to Canada
U.S. President Joe Biden heads north next week for his first visit to Canada as president. Ahead of the visit, both countries are laying out a wide range of potential topics spanning from migration policy to continuing support for Ukraine.

FACT CHECK | Popular e-petition calling for Canada to allow trans people to claim asylum, but that right is 'already established'
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
Trudeau met threshold to invoke Emergencies Act, commission finds
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Canada may be turning corner on inflation, but Bank of Canada governor not ruling out 'mild recession'
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Opinion
opinion | Don Martin: Beware the friendly face of Joe Biden. He's just not that into us.
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.

opinion | Don Martin: Finally and inevitably, Trudeau waved the white flag
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
opinion | Don Martin: The Trudeau tipping point is within sight
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: Trudeau can't ignore the dangers of Chinese meddling in Canada's elections
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
ANALYSIS & INSIGHTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Trudeau's chief of staff Telford will testify about foreign interference: PMO
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has announced that after nearly 24 hours of Liberal attempts to block it from happening, Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about foreign interference.

BREAKING | Student charged with attempted murder in stabbings at Halifax-area high school
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
Inflation in Canada: February saw largest deceleration since April 2020
The annual pace of inflation cooled in February as it posted its largest deceleration since April 2020.
opinion | What happens if you mistakenly get a larger tax refund?
Was your 2022 tax refund larger than you expected it to be?
U.S. teacher shot by 6-year-old speaks out: 'It's changed me'
A Virginia teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student said it has changed her life and she has vivid memories and nightmares about that day.
opinion | Tom Mulcair: Trudeau hoodwinked everyone on climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has just released a new report and its alarming conclusions are a must-read for anyone who cares about what kind of planet we’re going to leave to our kids, writes former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.
Gwyneth Paltrow's trial begins for Deer Valley ski crash
Gwyneth Paltrow's trial is set to begin on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
Two men who lost fingers crossing into Canada become Canadian citizens
Razak Iyal was given a warm embrace as he officially became a Canadian citizen, more than six years after nearly freezing to death walking across the Canada-United States border in Manitoba.
'Here I Am' photo gallery showcases older Canadians with Down syndrome
March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day and to mark the occasion a Canadian organization launched a campaign showcasing older people living with the condition.