Haitians rally for interim government, but split on military intervention: experts
Though citizen and business groups in Haiti are split on the idea of a military intervention amid humanitarian and political crises, experts warned Canadian members of Parliament Friday that the country is in dire need.
As a senior Canadian envoy is deployed to Haiti to discuss possible solutions, human-rights researcher Gedeon Jean painted a stark picture for MPs, saying in French: "Haiti is on the edge of the precipice."
Jean was among witnesses who told the House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights that there must be a widely accepted plan for a transitional government in Haiti amid a debate over foreign help.
Haiti has not held elections since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped in as president after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Instability in the country has allowed violent gangs to take control of critical infrastructure, leading to power and water outages, massacres and a cholera outbreak.
In response, Ottawa has sanctioned a dozen high-ranking Haitian politicians and business leaders, accusing them of financing the gangs. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, to the country to seek a path to consensus.
"When we put this pressure on the political and economic elite, we can eventually allow for a political dialogue, and that's why Bob Rae, right now as we speak, is in Haiti," Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters in French on Thursday.
"Our goal is to find solutions by and for Haitians."
Henry's unpopular government has asked for a foreign military intervention to create a humanitarian corridor, a move endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General. United States officials namechecked Canada as a possible lead for such a mission earlier this year.
But some Haitians have pushed back on the idea, arguing that it would only lead to more chaos.
Monique Clesca, an activist with an opposition group that wants to form a two-year provisional government, argued that the president's request for a foreign intervention shouldn't be taken seriously.
"It is a crime of high treason, and this request demonstrates the failure of Henri's government and of the international diplomacy that installed it and continues to support it, despite its illegitimacy and disastrous governance," she said in French.
She argued that there is a gradual consensus building among politicians, religious groups and civil society for a security solution carried out by the Haitian National Police. But the country also needs humanitarian help and solutions to discourage youth from joining gangs.
"The issue goes beyond establishing a semblance of security, and it's not a cleanup that will solve the gang problems or the humanitarian needs," Clesca said.
Other witnesses told MPs that gangs recruit orphaned children, leading Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld to ask whether a military intervention could put "Canadian soldiers face-to-face with armed gangs, potentially in a shooting battle with what are essentially child soldiers."
Yet the International Crisis Group says its conflict-prevention experts believe that a military intervention is the only way to establish humanitarian corridors to combat cholera and stop sexual violence.
Next would be a transitional government to re-establish essential services and hold fair elections, perhaps with an external country as a mediator if Haitians request it.
"The situation there is increasingly dramatic, and inaction may not necessarily be the best course of action," the group's regional director, Renata Segura, said.
"It is crucial that Haitians come together in a national dialogue of sorts to determine if they wanted the arrival of these troops, and if so, what exactly their mandate would be."
Segura said locals are afraid to voice support for an intervention, as they don't want it to be conflated with support for the current government.
Jean, head of the Centre d'analyse et de recherche en droits de l'homme, argued that the international community must intervene under the United Nations' "responsibility to protect" doctrine.
He argued that his country is approaching a "proto-state" akin to the so-called Islamic State group's takeover of parts of Syria and Iraq. He said in French that Haiti's justice system has collapsed into mayhem, and one of its main prisons "resembles Nazi concentration camps, and those of other similar regimes."
Another representative of the International Crisis Group, Diego Da Rin, said that a series of clashes in Port-au-Prince over the past year have seen rival gangs filming the sexual assaults of women in newly won territory in an effort to assert control and stoke fears.
A national director for Partners In Health Canada, a charity that operates hospitals and clinics in Haiti, told the committee that Canada can help in the short term, regardless of whether a military intervention takes place.
"Canada can help right now," said Mark Brender.
Haiti needs fuel and storage capacity, he said, and Canada could build supply warehouses for essentials and medical supplies outside of the areas cut off by gang wars.
In the medium term, he said Canada could also invest in solar panels so that Haiti isn't brought to its knees by blockades around its main fuel terminal. These have left hospitals operating on generators staff at the group's hospitals trekking six hours through the mountains to the Dominican Republic to get fuel, he said.
This week, some of the most important business groups in Haiti signed an open letter pledging to weed out corruption and help the country rebuild, if political actors take up the mantle of "patriotic realism" and allow for foreign help.
The French-language letter asks political leaders to "sign a political agreement establishing a government of national unity that strives to include as many stakeholders as possible, with a clear roadmap leading to the holding of honest, transparent, and fair elections within a reasonable timeframe."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.