Canada airlifts vulnerable citizens out of Haiti
Government acts as commercial flights cancelled
• Canada airlifted 18 vulnerable Canadians out of Haiti by helicopter to the Dominican Republic Monday and more will be offered the chance to evacuate in the coming days, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Monday.
Canada has been advising Canadians against travelling to Haiti for two years, but were prompted to help people escape when all commercial flights to the country were cancelled, Joly said.
“The difference is now the airport is not functional, the security situation is untenable at the airport,” Joly said at a press conference in Ottawa Monday.
“That is why in these circumstances it is important for us to be able to bring Canadians to safety.”
The assisted evacuation is only available to people with a valid Canadian passport, Joly said, because of strict eligibility requirements in the Dominican Republic.
Canadian permanent residents, citizens without a valid passport, and the family members of Canadians are not eligible for the helicopter airlift. The government is working on other ways to help those people leave the country, Joly said.
There are close to 3,000 Canadians officially registered as remaining in the country, said Julie Sunday, assistant deputy minister of consular, security, and emergency management.
However fewer than 300 have requested assistance to leave the country and only about 30 people signalled that they were “travel ready,” she said.
“We're prioritizing the most vulnerable Canadians. For example, those who have a medical condition or those who have children,” Joly said.
Earlier this month, Canada airlifted most of its diplomats from its embassy in Port-au-prince by helicopter, sending them to the neighbouring Dominican Republic to work remotely because of the increasingly volatile security situation.
Canada's ambassador to Haiti, Andre Francois Giroux, will remain in the country, Joly reiterated Monday.
“We know that the Haitian people need us,” Joly said in French.
Canada has also deployed diplomatic and consular staff to assist with the evacuation of vulnerable Canadians from the country.
Haiti has been in a profound security crisis since mid-2021, when gangs took control of key infrastructure and started violent turf wars that have led to a collapse of most medical and food systems in the country.
Two weeks ago, unelected Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign once a transitional council is formed to oversee an international military intervention led by Kenya.
Fresh turmoil involving the transitional council that will be responsible for choosing Haiti's new leader triggered a flurry of meetings with Caribbean leaders and officials from the U.S., Canada and France, officials said Monday.
The council has yet to be sworn in given concerns over the security of its members, among other things, a regional official who was not authorized to talk to the media told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official is based in Guyana, which serves as headquarters for the regional trade bloc known as Caricom that is helping create the transitional council.
The delay in establishing the council comes as gangs continue to launch attacks across Haiti's capital. Since Feb. 29, gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed and stormed the country's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
Scores of people have been killed, and more than 33,000 people have fled the capital of Port-au-prince as a result of the attacks.
On Sunday, the newest person chosen to represent the EDE/RED — one of several Haitian political parties and groups with a seat on the nine-member council — stepped down, forcing the council to scramble to replace her. Dominique Dupuy, a UNESCO ambassador, said in a video statement that she resigned in part because she became the target of political attacks and death threats.
In a statement posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, the Montana Accord, a group of civil society leaders that also has a seat on the council, said it supported Dupuy and her family “at a time when she is being persecuted and threatened.”
“Society must remain vigilant about all political maneuvers based on fear and terror,” it said. “It's time for us to stop the violence.”
Dupuy was quickly replaced, bringing the council back up to its full nine members, seven of which have voting powers, but they have yet to be sworn in.
It wasn't immediately clear when the council would be formally announced, with another meeting scheduled Monday between its members and officials with Caricom.
Officials are hoping rampant gang violence will subside once the council selects a new leader for Haiti and appoints a council of ministers. While gang violence has somewhat subsided in recent days, gunmen set fire to a large, open-air garage in downtown Port-au-prince on Sunday.
“A lot of people have lost everything,” attorney Joseph James said. “We couldn't save anything.”