Canada adds another flight to evacuate nationals from Haiti

Photo: Odelyn Joseph Associated Press A man looks at the rubble of a garage after it was set on fire by gangs in Port-au-Prince on March 25.

Sidhartha Banerjee – The Canadian Press

April 7, 2024

• Americas

Canada has added a new flight to evacuate Canadians, relatives or permanent residents who wish to leave Haiti.

This last flight would leave sometime next week, but the day was not specified.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, indicated on the social network

“As our assisted departures from Haiti come to an end, we have seen an influx of requests at the last minute. For those who missed today’s flight, please know that we will have an additional flight this week,” she wrote.

A flight organized by another government left Haiti on Sunday. It was to be the last to transport Canadians.

“The situation in Haiti is extraordinarily difficult. This is why Canada has, in recent years, been very committed to supporting the Haitian national police and has been very involved in diplomatic efforts aimed at establishing democratic stability in Haiti. We are here to help vulnerable Canadians currently in Haiti,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a pre-budget announcement in Montreal.

“We started our evacuations a few weeks ago. We will continue to ensure that we can help people in the best way possible. »

Present at Mr. Trudeau's announcement, Ms. Joly said she believed that this additional flight would calm everyone's concerns.

She said Friday that the federal government had helped more than 250 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members to leave the country in recent weeks. She added that their numbers had decreased considerably and that, therefore, a last flight would leave on Sunday.

But in light of the events, the Canadian authorities had to organize another flight.

Haiti has been facing a political and humanitarian crisis since mid-2021. Gangs are committing violence across the country while limiting access to food and basic necessities.< /p>

The situation worsened further last month, when progress toward foreign military intervention prompted gangs to release prisoners and close Haiti's main airport.