Canada evacuating vulnerable Canadian citizens out of Haiti: Joly
Canada airlifted 18 vulnerable Canadians out of Haiti by helicopter to the Dominican Republic on Monday, and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says more will be offered the chance to evacuate in the coming days.
Haiti has been in a profound security crisis since mid-2021, when gangs took control of key infrastructure and started violent turf wars that have led to the collapse of most of its medical and food systems.
"Gangs are terrorizing the streets; women and children are scared of getting out of their homes," Joly told a news conference.
The chaos escalated earlier this month when Ariel Henry, Haiti's unelected prime minister, visited Kenya to confirm plans for an international military intervention led by police from the east African country.
Gangs freed violent prisoners and took over the international airport in Port-au-Prince, preventing Henry from returning home. The Dominican Republic, which shares an island with Haiti, also turned him away.
Two weeks ago, Henry agreed to resign once a transitional council is formed to oversee the intervention.
Canada has been advising Canadians against travelling to Haiti for two years, but Joly said the government felt compelled to help people escape when all commercial flights to the country were cancelled.
"The difference is now the airport is not functional, the security situation is untenable at the airport," she said. "That is why in these circumstances it is important for us to be able to bring Canadians to safety."
The assisted evacuation is only available to people with a valid Canadian passport because of strict eligibility requirements in the Dominican Republic, she added.
Canadian permanent residents, citizens without a valid passport, and the foreign family members of Canadians are not eligible to be airlifted. The government is working on alternatives, Joly said.
"We'll take it, basically, one day at a time."
The helicopter ride will be provided at no cost, but Joly's office said it would be up to individual Canadians to pay for their accommodation in the Dominican Republic and for their travel back to Canada, for which Ottawa provides loans.
There are close to 3,000 Canadians officially registered as remaining in Haiti, said Julie Sunday, assistant deputy minister of consular, security, and emergency management.
However, fewer than 300 have requested assistance to leave the country, including permanent residents and relatives of Canadians.
Fewer still — less than 100 of those asking for help, Joly said — are Canadian citizens with valid passports. Only about 30 of those have indicated they were "travel ready," Sunday said.
"We're prioritizing the most vulnerable Canadians — for example, those who have a medical condition or those who have children," Joly said.
She said Canadians would be evacuated from a "green zone," a safe location in Haiti. Canadians in past evacuations elsewhere have opted against immediately evacuating for fear of danger reaching an airlift point, Joly added, noting that gangs are taking over empty houses.
Earlier this month, Canada airlifted most of its diplomats from its embassy in Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic, where they continue to work remotely because of the increasingly volatile security situation.
Canada's ambassador to Haiti, André François Giroux, will remain in the country, Joly reiterated Monday. Sunday said that staff working at the embassy can still help issue emergency travel documents to Canadians who lack passports.
Ottawa remains focused on helping Haitians find a way out of the crisis and she reiterated that solutions can't be imposed by foreigners.
"We know that the Haitian people need us," Joly said in French.
Canada has also deployed diplomatic and consular staff to assist with the evacuation of vulnerable Canadians from the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
BREAKING Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
Key mediator Qatar urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Campus anti-war protesters dig in across U.S. as schools, police take action
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war woke up in tents at college campuses across the United States Sunday morning planning more protests demanding that schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies accused of enabling the conflict.
Local Spotlight
DonAir force takes over at Oilers playoff games
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan skips haircuts for 10 years waiting for Stanley Cup win
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”