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Haitian leaders must all agree before Canada would lead a potential military intervention, Trudeau says

U.S. has suggested Canada could lead a multinational force in Haiti

Dylan Robertson · The Canadian Press · Posted: Nov 20, 2022 1:27 PM ET

A potential Canadian military intervention in Haiti can't happen unless all political parties in the troubled nation agree to it, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday.

Speaking from Tunisia on the final day of the two-day Francophonie summit, Trudeau announced $16.5 million to help stabilize Haiti, where gangs are strangling access to fuel and critical supplies amid a worsening cholera outbreak.

About half the money is going toward humanitarian aid, and some of the rest is intended to help weed out corruption and prosecute gender-based violence.

But Haiti's government has asked for an international military intervention to combat gangs who have strangled access to fuel and critical supplies in the middle of the outbreak.

The United States wants Canada to lead any military intervention.

Trudeau said Sunday that Canada is working with CARICOM, the organization of Caribbean governments, along with "various actors in Haiti from all different political parties" to get a consensus on how the international community can help.

"It is not enough for Haiti's government to ask for it," he said. "There needs to be a consensus across political parties in Haiti before we can move forward on more significant steps."

He did not rule out eventually establishing a Canadian military mission on the ground in Haiti.

"Canada is very open to playing an important role, but we must have a Haitian consensus," Trudeau said in French.

New sanctions on prominent former officials
A Global Affairs Canada assessment team sent to Haiti to establish some understanding of what is happening and what could help has already returned and provided a report at meetings Trudeau said he attended.

He said the response is complicated because many "political elites" and "oligarchs" in Haiti have used the country's humanitarian crises "to enrich themselves on the backs of the Haitian people."

"So that is why our approach now is not about doing what one political party or the government wants," Trudeau said. "It's calling for a level of consensus and coherence from all actors in Haiti to call for solutions that we can actually get behind and lead on as an international community."

On Saturday Canada expanded its economic sanctions freezing the Canadian assets of Haitian political elites to now include former president Michel Martelly and former prime ministers Laurent Lamothe and Jean-Henry Ceant.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly accused the trio of helping gangs undermine Haiti's current government and called on international partners to follow Canada's lead.

"Our goal is to make sure that these people that are profiting from the violence, that are part of a corrupted system, are facing accountability," she said.

Haitian Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Victor Geneus said the new sanctions put real consequences on those causing a "nightmare" in his country.

"These sanctions will have a dissuasive impact," he said in French, while seated between Trudeau and Joly.

Geneus said gangs are raping women and girls, preventing children from attending school and not letting sick people through roadblocks when they seek medical treatment. That means refugees are leaving for neighbouring islands.

"If the necessary conditions for safety are not re-established in a fast and urgent manner, a humanitarian catastrophe is possible in Haiti," he said in French.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-haiti-intervention-sanctions-1.6658254
 
Well, in ‘fairness’ it only covers ‘gross’ violations of human rights, not moderate or minor violations. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
Well, in ‘fairness’ it only covers ‘gross’ violations of human rights, not moderate or minor violations. 🤷🏻‍♂️
We are just better at denying our violations 🤐

The best part about International Law is the rules are all made up!

It's a poker game, where everyone is a cheater.
 
I genuinely hope they are doing something like that. Who knows though? This seems pretty reactionary and making things up as we go to respond to political direction.
Yep I was surprised myself. That's a lot of going for these ships and things can go bad mechanically quickly.
 
This must be the weakest law on the books 🤣

Has there been a time where the US Govt or by extension, some Govt Agency, hasn't worked/funded foreign security forces implicated in the commission of gross violations of human rights?
In my experience (Iraq) it is a careful dance with many a fig leaf. In fact, I was one of those fig leaves...
 
Maybe Wagner will intervene on behalf of the Haitian Government 😄

John Boehner Ok GIF
 
Haiti is prime real estate for Caribbean resorts, it's a shame the locals made a mess of it.
 
To be fair, they are doing a bang up job!

The Jamaicans had hired a Western Company to build new highways and they made a total mess of the situation (must have been SNC Lavalin LOL).

The Chinese came in, made a deal with the Jamaican Govt and sorted the project out for them. They did an outstanding job as well.

To be fair to the Chinese as well, their record for successful philanthropy in the developing world is better than ours.
I well remember doing convoy escorts from Port au Prince to Gonaives in the north horn there when our rifle coy took over from the French - that highway was shambolic then, can only imagine what happened after the earthquake. It's a 90km drive - return trip we usually planned for about 12-14 hours IIRC. Shocks on trucks and LAV's alike were getting wrecked because of how messed up that road was.
 
Haiti is prime real estate for Caribbean resorts, it's a shame the locals made a mess of it.
Listen to “Real Dictators” three part series on Papa Doc. It’s not totally the fault of Haitians.

Oh Paris can you see this?
 
I well remember doing convoy escorts from Port au Prince to Gonaives in the north horn there when our rifle coy took over from the French - that highway was shambolic then, can only imagine what happened after the earthquake. It's a 90km drive - return trip we usually planned for about 12-14 hours IIRC. Shocks on trucks and LAV's alike were getting wrecked because of how messed up that road was.
Surprise surprise! It was also a French construction company who made a real mess of Jamaica's Hwy 2000 project 🤣
 
BS. No need to be fair to the assholes who set this up. It was disrespectful and cost us dearly.
I wasn’t being trying to be fair to the dickheads that set this up.

I was just saying that…taking a look around can be helpful from time to time…


(Was it set up as a sinister plot to tarnish the PM’s image, or a gag that went too far? Honestly asking, this was before my time…)
 
(Was it set up as a sinister plot to tarnish the PM’s image, or a gag that went too far? Honestly asking, this was before my time…)
Whether ‘sinister’ is the right word or not, it was deliberate. That chatter on the Regimental low-side was aflutter before the pictures really started hitting the news. There’s no doubt it wasn’t an accident. I’m not armoured, but had enough colleagues who are, and were in the regiment specifically, that I am 100% confident (taken them at their word) it was clearly meant to embarrass PMJC.
 
Honestly if it was a set up those that set it up needed a stern talking to like “you’ve been relieved of your appointment as _______”
 
Whether ‘sinister’ is the right word or not, it was deliberate. That chatter on the Regimental low-side was aflutter before the pictures really started hitting the news. There’s no doubt it wasn’t an accident. I’m not armoured, but had enough colleagues who are, and were in the regiment specifically, that I am 100% confident (taken them at their word) it was clearly meant to embarrass PMJC.
Honestly if it was a set up those that set it up needed a stern talking to like “you’ve been relieved of your appointment as _______”

Eating popcorn, wondering if this is in my son's regimental museum or not...since I know which regiment is responsible because I was in the country next door with a different unit when this happened.
 
Haitian refugees are a Canada problem whether we like it or not. Now, I have absolutely no idea what a solution to that would be.
The WHAT is the easy part. If Haiti were a stable a prosperous nation, there would be no refugees.

HOW we do that is the hard part. 🤷‍♂️
 
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