Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is encouraging the international community to target Haiti’s political class before a criminal gang crisis further destabilizes the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, regional leaders are pushing for increased Canadian private investment in the West Indies.
Mr. Trudeau told reporters Thursday that “right now, there is not even a consensus within the Haitian political class on whether or not someone should intervene to prevent people to be killed, murdered and raped.”
The Prime Minister was speaking at the conclusion of a two-day summit in Ottawa of leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to discuss Canadian cooperation in this region.
Mr. Trudeau had invited CARICOM members to Ottawa to discuss various topics, including climate change and reform of global financial institutions.
But it is the crisis in Haiti that dominated this summit, while Canada has been calling for a year for an end to violence, sexual assault and the food crisis in this country, where the mandate of all elected officials has now expired. .
Kenya is set to lead a military intervention, approved this month by the United Nations Security Council, to end the violence of criminal gangs, who rule lawlessly on Haiti’s streets. Canadian officials say the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will likely send police as the country works to help Haiti maintain stability after this intervention ends.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley said CARICOM leaders were sensitive to concerns that their support for Haiti was being confused with support for a “minority government arrangement”.
It is crucial, he says, that CARICOM and Canada are seen as “honest brokers, not supporting what exists in perpetuity – which in itself constitutes a danger.”
Call for power sharing
The country has been led by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry since August 2021, when he took office without having been elected, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse the previous month.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Trudeau’s office publicly pressured Mr. Henry to work with his political opponents, issuing a statement citing the urgent need for a power-sharing agreement with opposition groups.
Mr. Trudeau did not want to specify Thursday whether Ariel Henry had become an obstacle to the establishment of security in Haiti, nor whether this week’s meetings convinced him to work more with his opponents.
“Canada has been here to help the Haitian people for 30 years,” he declared in a passionate tone. Unfortunately, over these 30 years we have not managed to resolve the situation. And the reality is that it is not up to the international community to resolve the situation for Haiti. »
Mr. Trudeau argued that Haitians must be empowered to solve problems themselves, which he said means more countries are targeting corrupt elites who have allowed criminal gangs to flourish. He added that Canada will always help Haiti.
Temporary foreign workers
The Prime Minister also announced Thursday that Canada was creating a new temporary worker program for the fishing industry.
The brief was part of a Thursday discussion on Canadian investment opportunities in Caribbean countries, as well as boosting trade.
Trudeau said Canadian industries can partner with regional countries on green infrastructure, “smart agriculture” and renewable energy.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said countries like his would like Canadian companies to be “bolder” in investing in industries beyond just mining and oil extraction.
“We want the Canadian private sector to come and participate in this opportunity, outside of traditional investment areas,” he said Thursday.
Throughout the Ottawa summit, Caribbean leaders often praised Canada’s traditional role in conveying the region’s concerns to other international forums.
On Wednesday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley urged Mr. Trudeau to “help us tell the truth to key decision-makers” by convincing certain unidentified countries to stop preventing reform of global financial institutions.
Leaders argued that they were economically devastated by major hurricanes, but were unable to afford infrastructure that could withstand such storms because they are now too “rich” to qualify. for loans intended for the poorest in the world.
Many leaders praised Canada’s leadership in development assistance as Caribbean countries gained independence in the 1960s, as well as Ottawa’s continued role in governing the Development Bank of the Caribbean.
Canada will host the bank’s annual board meeting next year, and meetings are planned between Canadian and Caribbean leaders in the coming months.