Lone Haitian-born MP backs a Canadian-supported foreign intervention to meet Port-au-Prince appeal

Following a Haitian government call for a multinational force to quell a combination of worsening crises, the sole Haitian-born member of the House of Commons is calling on Canada to support the request. With critical infrastructure blockaded by powerful gangs, leading to fuel and food shortages, accompanied by large-scale protests and a cholera outbreak, Haiti has been in a state of democratic turmoil since the assassination of then-president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Earlier this month, the Haitian government, led by acting president and prime minister Ariel Henry, called for a multinational force to intervene to address the crises. Foreign intervention harkens back to an oft-criticized United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 that was responsible for a cholera outbreak in 2010 and subject to allegations of human rights abuses. “It kept me awake all night long, this situation in Haiti,” said Liberal MP Emmanuel Dubourg (Bourassa, Que.), who was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti, in 1958, before immigrating to Canada in 1974. He said he has been in active discussions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.) about the unfolding situation, noting that Canada is still looking at ways to assist. Dubourg told The Hill Times that Canada should accede to Haiti’s request. “I think that we have to analyze the situation and respond favourably to this request,” said the chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, calling the situation in Haiti “very complex” with “multiples crises.” “My position is the international level should work together and go there and help Haitian people, but it has to be in concert with Haiti to be able to restore security, democratic institutions, and ban—as much as we can—corruption there,” he said, remarking that an international force is needed to combat the heavy arms that gangs possess. Asked about whether Trudeau and Joly support sending an intervention force, Dubourg said he has “a real feeling” that they want to help Haiti with its situation. On Oct. 18, Joly told reporters in French that Canada is looking at “several options," remarking that Canada will “always be there to help the situation in Haiti." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a call with CARICOM leaders and convened the Incident Response Group to address the situation in Haiti. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade While some have suggested that the Haitian community in Canada is against a foreign intervention, Dubourg said there isn’t a unanimous view. “The request made by the Haitian government divided Haitian people,” he said. “Here in Montreal, we have a lot of Haitian people they know Haiti doesn’t need intervention. And I have a lot of people also saying, ‘What are you waiting for? They are killing us. We can’t live there.’” He said Canada will be there to help Haitians, but that a solution will have to come from “Haitians for Haitians.” “This time, in 2022, we have to do better,” he said. “We have to make sure that five or 10 years later, this is not going to be like this again, because Haiti goes from crisis to crisis,” he said. Presidential elections in the Caribbean nation have been postponed numerous times, with little progress to find a pathway to hold them. Dubourg said the current security situation makes it impossible to hold elections. Dubourg’s riding of Bourassa, Que., is composed of nearly 18 per cent of those who identify as of Haitian ethnic origin, according to the 2016 census. On Oct. 21, the United Nations Security Council unanimously backed sanctions on Jimmy Chérizier, commonly known as "Barbecue,” who leads a federation of gangs in Haiti. The United States and Mexico have proposed a multinational security mission to Haiti, which followed a suggestion by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for a “rapid-action force.” But it remains to be seen which nation would take on the arduous task of leading the initiative. Haitian experts told The Hill Times that if such a force does materialize, they would expect Canada to be part of it. Responding to the crises, Canada sent military equipment for the Haitian national police, including armoured vehicles, in a joint shipment of assistance with the U.S. government. Trudeau said the equipment will be used for the “restoration of security in Haiti.” On Oct. 19, Trudeau spoke with the leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, according to a PMO readout. During the call, the leaders discussed “the need to remove blockades by gangs.” Two days prior, the prime minister convened the Incident Response Group to discuss the situation. Former ambassador Henri-Paul Normandin, who was Canada’s top diplomat in Haiti from 2010 to 2013, said both the equipment provided to the police and the sanctions on gang leaders will help address the situation to help increase the capacity of the national police, as well as to diminish the willingness of those who sponsor gang activity to continue to do so, especially if they hold assets in the U.S. “The desire to continue to sponsor some of the people who do the work in the street will diminish and that will entail a reduction of capacity for those who are on the ground—the gangs and their associates,” he said. He said everyone would prefer that a multinational force not be necessary, but it could be a short-term solution to address the situation. “It is very risky politically; it is risky operationally. So ideally, the international community, including Canada, would prefer not to get into this. But we are in this dilemma: if nothing is done, things are going to get worse and then we might be searching for the least-worst option, which is the multinational force,” he said, noting that if a multinational force does it exist, he cannot see Canada not having a role in it. Former diplomat Gilles Rivard, who was Canada’s ambassador to Haiti from 2008 to 2010, said before the international community agrees to supply an intervention force, there should be a roadmap established in Haiti towards conducting elections. “Before talking about military action, the most important thing from a Haitian perspective … is to come with a roadmap for elections negotiated between civil society, business people, and the political authority,” he said, remarking that Canada can play a role in that process. “So far in the 15 months since the death of the president, there still is nothing on the table.” He said there has been a lack of urgency to establish a path toward elections. Rivard said he didn’t think Canada is interested in having boots on the ground at this time. He said that the poor memories of past UN interventions have left a “bad feeling” for many Haitians. “A lot has been done, but I don’t think that a UN mission, at this point in time, will be well accepted,” he said, noting that a non-UN international force isn’t any better. University of Ottawa professor Stephen Baranyi, an expert on Canada’s engagement in Haiti, said it is crucial that the assistance given to Haiti goes to anti-gang activities and not to repress anti-government protests. If an international force is sent to Haiti, it needs to have a well-defined mandate, he said “The mandate of that force has to be subscribed to do two things: one, to restore control of critical infrastructure,” he said, “and two, protecting humanitarian corridors that the UN have asked for to ensure that petroleum supplies, but also water supplies, start to get back out of cities and get back to hospitals … and communities in order to re-establish some semblance of economic activity, but also to stamp the spread of cholera.” He said if those two conditions were met, Canada should be “seriously considering” contributing to the force. With the “extremely checkered” history of international interventions in Haiti, Baranyi said it is not enough to just have a UN Security Council mandate. “Given that, it is important for that mission to have some degree of an internal mandate or national mandate,” he said. “The only way to guarantee a minimum amount of broader support for intervention is that negotiate an agreement with the coalition of opposition forces, which are grouped under the Montana Accord.” The accord—proposed by a collection of Haitian civic, religious, and political organizations—seeks to establish a provisional government in place of Henry and to hold elections. Baranyi said if there is an intervention force, it should be on the smaller side and mainly be composed of police. Independent Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie says foreign military intervention in Haiti is 'complex and difficult.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Independent Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie (Rougemont, Que.), who was born in Jacmel, Haiti, in 1950, before moving to Quebec 26 years later, said she is keeping a close watch on the situation. “The issue of foreign military intervention is complex and difficult, and the crisis in Haiti is multidimensional. I am following this situation closely,” she said in a statement. She said she is listening to the Haitian diaspora to advance its priorities with the federal government. “I am thinking, among other things, of the need to set up a program to regularize the status of thousands of people in Canada , many of whom are of Haitian origin, and of the need to facilitate family reunification and to accelerate the processing of the files of individuals accepted as permanent residents,” she said. NDP MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, Alta.), her party’s foreign affairs critic, said in an Oct. 19 statement that the New Democrats oppose a militarized approach, remarking that it is “neither sufficient nor sustainable to address the pressing needs faced by most Haitians.” “Many Haitian-Canadians oppose international military action given the failures of past foreign intervention in Haiti. We must not forget the troubling history of MINUSTAH ,” the statement read. McPherson wasn’t available for an interview. She noted that the NDP are “listening” to Haitian Canadians who have “highlighted the need for the Liberal government to support the Montana Accord.” nmoss@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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Lone Haitian-born MP backs a Canadian-supported foreign intervention to meet Port-au-Prince appeal

Haiti has been ravaged by a series of mounting crises as its government calls for a foreign force to intervene to restore critical infrastructure.

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