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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
 
Canada in the no win situation. There is no good way forward. If Canada says yes its "white" colonialism at the first mistake. And there will be mistakes or things happening that make the news. Then there is the small point that the CAF doesn't really have the means and resources at this time. And the cost will be high. Then as she said we need partners, if past experience is anything to go by those "partners" maybe be of little help or worse.

I guess the plan is to shovel a 100 million in the hole and say we did enough. (I am almost in agreement with that)

Taiwan and Cuba are apparently strong allies. Maybe there's some 'convening' that Canada could do to knit together some kind of interesting intervention and stabilization force.

After all, we have a Prime Minister who might be related to people in both those countries in some way ;)


Haiti was one of the original members of the League of Nations, and was one of the original members of the United Nations and several of its specialized and related agencies. It is also a founding member of the Organization of American States. It maintains diplomatic relations with 37 countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America. Haiti also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, instead of the People's Republic of China. Taiwan is one of Haiti's major trading partners and the two countries maintain very friendly relations. Haiti has also re-established very warm relations with Cuba in which a major act of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Cuba's large contribution of doctors to the country. The Haitian government has publicly shown admiration to Fidel Castro and his administration.

 
Also one of the firsts to wear it overseas in theatre.

She took her role as C-in-C dead seriously. Much more so that others that came before and after her.

View attachment 76985
Madam Jean was gracious and very polite. As was Madam Clarkson and Peter McKay.
Despite what some here have to say about their missteps they are three very good people.
 
For Haiti to progress at all, they’ll need to start out by carving out at least some enclaves with meaningful law and order, and then expand them while building and preserving institutional credibility. It will be public order policing for a long time before they can really build much investigative and judicial capacity. And yes, it will be a fight. But that fight absolutely has to be host nation led, with Haitians front and center. They need to have skin in the game. And, given the west’s ugly colonial history with Haiti anyway, whatever Haiti moves towards needs to not be externally imposed.
Law and Order is only the first and quite possibly the easiest step in a hugely massive multi-step process to begin creating a state that might actual not be considered a 'failed state' but one that has a chance at growing. It would take tens of thousands of non-Haitian experts being brought in for a period of time longer than 20-30yrs to begin providing everything from clean water, sanitation, an education from kindergarten straight through to university, roads, supply logistics, etc, etc - all on some else's dime the entire time.

Forget about it - its never going to happen. IF we go in there to do 'something' it will not be for ANY of the above things, we'll be gone in under 24-30 months (or just after the next election) and in the future, sadly, the next time something similar goes south in Haiti, we'll be 'asked' (expected) to go back there again and again and again - wasting precious lives, money/resources and time.
 
Law and Order is only the first and quite possibly the easiest step in a hugely massive multi-step process to begin creating a state that might actual not be considered a 'failed state' but one that has a chance at growing. It would take tens of thousands of non-Haitian experts being brought in for a period of time longer than 20-30yrs to begin providing everything from clean water, sanitation, an education from kindergarten straight through to university, roads, supply logistics, etc, etc - all on some else's dime the entire time.

Forget about it - its never going to happen. IF we go in there to do 'something' it will not be for ANY of the above things, we'll be gone in under 24-30 months (or just after the next election) and in the future, sadly, the next time something similar goes south in Haiti, we'll be 'asked' (expected) to go back there again and again and again - wasting precious lives, money/resources and time.
without solving basic needs, law and order enforcement will not take root with the local folks. need both a big stick and a helping hand, and as you indicated decades for it to take effect - if it does at all.
 
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The unelected, unaccountable, former GG has already spoken...


Former governor general Michaëlle Jean says Canada can play a leadership role in a security intervention force to help stabilize Haiti in collaboration with police teams from other countries in the region. 'They do have the experience and the expertise, but they can't do it alone,' she said.

She' so wild to commit treasure and manpower, give her a rifle and after a 6 mo tour I might want to listen
 
Anyone arrested for gang activity should be drafted and sent to Ukraine. Suddenly the remaining gang members will behave not wanting to be drafted. If they return they will have a trade and knowledge of the outside world. After seeing western culture and law and order they will likely want to fix Haiti and not return to their old ways.
 
She' so wild to commit treasure and manpower, give her a rifle and after a 6 mo tour I might want to listen
She's suggesting that the other countries in the Caribbean should be there on the ground enforcing some sort of stability - but the reality is that the vast majority of those countries don't have soldiers who speak French and quite frankly 'hate' Haitians and want nothing to do with them. Its a recipe for disaster.
 
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She's suggesting that the other countries in the Caribbean should be there on the ground enforcing some sort of stability - but the reality is that the vast majority of those countries don't have soldiers who speak French and quite frankly 'hate' Haitians and want nothing to do with them. Its a recipe for disaster.
Dumb question to the French speakers. Is the Haitian creole French even understandable?
 
I think the truth is nothing will change in Haiti with out a big stick to go in and settle down the neerdowells before things can improve.

This is one of those times violence is needed to solve the problem. And no one wants to be the guy who does it.
 
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I think the truth is nothing with change in Haiti with our a big stick to go in and settle down the neerdowells before things can improve.

This is one of those time violence is needed to solve the problem. And no one wants to be the guy who does it.

Memories of discussing riot/ crowd control techniques with a group of RCN Officers and one LCdr's solution to all scenarios was to level the main armament and shell them ;)
 
Anyone arrested for gang activity should be drafted and sent to Ukraine. Suddenly the remaining gang members will behave not wanting to be drafted. If they return they will have a trade and knowledge of the outside world. After seeing western culture and law and order they will likely want to fix Haiti and not return to their old ways.
Oh, if things were only that simple.
 
I think the truth is nothing with change in Haiti with our a big stick to go in and settle down the neerdowells before things can improve.

This is one of those time violence is needed to solve the problem. And no one wants to be the guy who does it.
Hey, I got beaten up rather badly the other day for suggesting something along those lines. Mind you, it was a humbling experience. 😎 (Sunglasses covering up black eyes).
 
Memories of discussing riot/ crowd control techniques with a group of RCN Officers and one LCdr's solution to all scenarios was to level the main armament and shell them ;)
"Canister, 100, crowd, centre of mass, ON! ON! LOADED! FIRE! FIRING NOW!"

"Hose trucks forward!"

j/k😬
 
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