The decision was made as senior US and Canadian officials gathered in Ottawa to consider a potential “international security operation” to Haiti.
While the US and Canadian foreign ministers met in Ottawa to discuss a Washington-led proposal to send an international armed force to the Caribbean island, Canada has sent a team to Haiti to assess the country’s deteriorating security situation.
A government delegation from Canada was in Haiti, according to a statement from the department of foreign affairs, “to meet with stakeholders on measures to support the Haitian people in resolving the humanitarian and security challenges.”
In what the government referred to as a “assessment mission,” the delegation is also thinking about “how Canada might contribute to the international response” in Haiti.
“The brutality in Haiti, especially against women and girls, worries Canada and the rest of the world. In the statement, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated, “Canada will not sit idly by as gangs and those who assist them threaten Haiti’s civilians. We will continue to help law-abiding Haitians as they work to end the crisis in their nation.
While visiting Canada for the first time in his career, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement and met with Joly and Justin Trudeau.
