MP Pierre Lemieux Highlights Government Support for Haiti

OTTAWA - Pierre Lemieux, MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, highlighted the efforts of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in addressing the needs of the people of Haiti following the devastating earthquake of January 12.

“All Canadians are deeply concerned about the impact of the recent earthquake in Haiti, which is why our government acted immediately to bring aid and support to the people affected” said MP Pierre Lemieux.

Canada was one of the first countries on the ground after the earthquake. Since then, Canadian officials have been working around the clock to assess the situation and do whatever could be done to help the Haitian people.

Among Canada’s contributions:

• A Canadian Forces DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) team has been sent to Haiti.

• Canadian Forces aircraft are being dispatched daily to bring such things as emergency supplies, personnel, and a search and rescue helicopters.

• These same planes are being used to bring Canadians home. To date, thousands of people have been brought safely back home.

• We have deployed an additional 1,000 troops to Haiti to provide stability, distribute aid, and provide medical care.

• Within a short time we managed to have approximately 2,000 men and women, seven helicopters and two ships contributing to rescue, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

• The HMCS Halifax and HMCS Athabaskan, two Canadian naval ships loaded with food, bottled water, medical equipment and humanitarian supplies, have arrived in Haiti last week.

• The Government is matching, dollar for dollar, Canadians’ charitable contributions for disaster assistance to Haiti. The Prime Minister has personally encouraged Canadians to give generously.  Thus far over $67 million has been donated. This is addition to the $5M preliminary contribution announced immediately following the earthquake. Financial donations are the fastest, most efficient way to get help to people living in a disaster zone. They allow relief agencies to purchase quickly supplies based on the specific needs of the affected population.

• In addition, a Canadian field hospital is now operating in Haiti.

• Expedited immigration procedures have been set up for Haitians with family in Canada. Adoption processes already underway have also been accelerated.

• On January 25 th Canada hosted a meeting of foreign ministers and key multilateral players to begin laying the groundwork for the reconstruction of Haiti.

• The Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince continues to provide emergency support to Canadians citizens in need.

“Since the tragic events in Haïti, I have heard from dozens of constituents from Glengarry-Prescott-Russell asking how they could best help the victims of this devastating earthquake,” concluded Pierre Lemieux. “Many have offered donations, while others even offered to welcome displaced Haïtians into their homes. It is truly an honour for me to represent a riding as generous as Glengarry-Prescott-Russell.”

Further information on the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund can be found at www.acdi-CIDA.gc.ca.

In order to avoid potential fraud, we urge all Canadians to ensure that their charity of choice is a registered charity. More information can be found at www.cra-arc-gc.ca.

Further information on contributing and the Government’s response to the situation in Haiti can be found at www.international.gc.ca.