Canada is sending 34 troops to Haiti to serve as a peacekeepers with a Brazilian battalion, Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced Wednesday.
MacKay announced the deployment in Ottawa alongside Calgary MP Diane Ablonczy and Gen. Tom Lawson, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff.
They will deploy from June 21 until December 2013, MacKay said.
"Members of the Canadian Armed Forces will serve as part of a Brazilian battalion to MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission to Haiti), carry out critical peacekeeping and peace support operations in Haiti, all the while sharing operational experience and best practices as well as exchanging lessons learned with their Brazilian counterparts," MacKay said.
Brazil is the largest contributor to the UN stabilization mission in Haiti, and discussions about sending a Canadian group to work with them have been taking place for the past two years.
However, the unusual request to have Canadian troops join a Brazilian mission was only approved by the United Nations within the past week, The Canadian Press reports.
Lawson said the Canadians were sought out and asked to help in the mission.
"It's because of our professionalism, our well-deserved reputation of operational excellence and our readiness to answer the call to serve wherever and whenever that call may come. Today, that call has come," Lawson said.
"We will work alongside one of our key allies in the region to help contribute to a safe and secure environment for Haitian citizens under a United Nations framework."
The Canadian soldiers are to be drawn from the Royal 22e Regiment, based in Valcartier, Que. Lawson said they have received language, peace support, and mission-specific training.
MacKay said Canada has maintained a steady commitment to Haiti and was one of the first countries to have boots on the ground following the devastating 2010 earthquake that claimed between 250,000 and 300,000 lives and left more than one million people homeless.
