Canadian embassy in Port-au-Prince still operating as officials gather in Jamaica for Haiti talks
Canada's UN Ambassador Bob Rae says airport, port remain closed, crippling aid efforts
Canada's embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti was still operating as Caribbean leaders met Monday with officials from the United States, Canada and other countries in Kingston, Jamaica to discuss plans to restore order to the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the meeting virtually and also held a meeting with his Incident Response Group to discuss the situation in Haiti.
Canada's UN Ambassador Bob Rae attended the meetings in person. He told CBC News from Kingston that while "Canada has not closed its embassy" in Haiti, the security situation on the ground will decide how long it remains open.
"We're still operating ... and we'll continue to operate a long as its possible," Rae said.
In a statement posted to its website, Global Affairs Canada said the embassy in Port-au-Prince "is closed temporarily to the public" but "consular services will be provided remotely."
Gangs have attacked and seized most of the Haitian capital in recent weeks. They've laid siege to the airport, government buildings and prisons, enabling thousands of inmates to escape.
Rae said both the airport and the port in Port-au-Prince remain closed, making it difficult to get supplies and food into the country.
"The power of the gangs has extended and expanded because as much as the Haitian national police has tried to do so, on its own it can't respond in a necessary way to establish order," he said.
Watch: Stabilization must be top priority for Haiti, former U.S. ambassador says:
The increasingly powerful gangs have been pushing Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign to prevent what they claim is the beginning of a civil war.
Henry, who is also acting president, was sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community, including Canada, after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
With the airport closed, Henry has been unable to return to his country since Tuesday, leaving the gangs and other armed groups to fill the power gap. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has closed its land border.
Restoring order
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken also attended the meetings in person, which were convened by the Conference of the Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said CARICOM leaders have heard from Haitian stakeholders who have called for the establishment of a presidential council to help expedite a political transition in Haiti.
"Everybody agreed to the urgent need for the establishment of a presidential council. Everybody agreed that that presidential council would be required to help identify a prime minister. Everybody agreed that that prime minister, working with the presidential council, would be effectively required to establish a government," she said during opening remarks at the CARICOM meeting.
Blinken announced that the U.S. would commit an additional $100 million US toward a multinational security mission and $33 million US for humanitarian aid.
"We all know that urgent action is needed on both the political and security tracks to help move things in a better direction, to help do right by the people of Haiti," Blinken said during a media availability following the meetings.
Rae said a number of countries from the region and from Africa are ready to put boots on the ground in Haiti, but Canada will be providing only financial and logistical support.
"Canada will be a part of any combined effort. It's just we're not sending troops," Rae said. "The reason for that is because (Trudeau) wants to insist that it's the Haitians themselves who have to lead the way."
Rae said talks continue aimed at getting more countries to commit to the multinational security force. Rae said the gangs in effective control of Haiti are very well armed.
"Their guns come from the United States and we've got to stop the flow of weapons to the country and we've got to increase the ability of the national police to be able to control things," he added.
Pamela White, a former U.S. ambassador to Haiti, told CBC News that she is not convinced a multinational force that does not include troops from Canada or the United States will be able to stabilize the country.
"Hatians need food, water, shelter, security. And that security is going to have to come first because you can't get water and food and medicine into Haiti … unless you have stabilization," White said.
Reaching a democratic consensus
Over the weekend, Trudeau spoke with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and promised to continue Canada's support for the Haitian National Police and member states of CARICOM.
A read-out of that call said both "leaders underlined the importance of the United Nations-authorized multinational security support mission to restore stability in Haiti."
Trudeau also spoke to Mottley over the weekend. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office after the call, the two agreed to help find a political consensus in Haiti that would lead toward fair elections and the restoration of order.
Rae said that it will be all but impossible to hold any form of democratic elections until order is restored on the ground in Haiti.
"Right now, we can't have an election because there is too much insecurity and too much violence," he said.
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