Canada reduces diplomatic footprint in Haiti citing ‘volatile’ environment

By Rachel Aiello

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    OTTAWA (CTV Network) — The Canadian government is reducing its diplomatic footprint in Haiti to “essential employees,” at the embassy in Port-au-Prince, but so far has no plans to begin extracting citizens as unrest continues to grip the Caribbean nation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced the move Thursday, saying the paring down of staff will allow Canada to “maintain our presence in Haiti to support Canadians during this volatile situation, given limited availability of supplies.”

As of Thursday, the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince remains temporarily closed to the public “due to the unpredictable security situation.”

The remaining consular team in the country will continue to provide assistance to Canadians, remotely, alongside those that are now “temporarily abroad,” Joly said.

Non-essential employees have been relocated to the Dominican Republic, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) officials confirmed Thursday during a briefing in Ottawa. This follows other countries that have already moved staff out of Haiti in recent days.

The operational transport of Canadian staff took place Thursday morning, using chartered helicopters.

Citing operational security, officials would not confirm the number of staff that have been evacuated, or those who remain, beyond indicating the remaining cadre was between 10 and 50 per cent of the embassy’s employees.

The government also would not speak to whether Canada has increased its security posture at the embassy, but noted the helicopter mission did allow a diplomat on the embassy’s security team to get back into Haiti.

“In terms of ensuring the security of the team remaining in Port-au-Prince, the drawdown is also part of that rationale in terms of being able to focus our security, our assets, our life support, to support that core team that remains in place,” GAC director general of security and emergency management Sebastien Beaulieu said.

Joly said Canada remains committed to supporting the Haitian people in the long-term, but the immediate priority is the safety and security of Canadians.

“This intervention will help ensure it,” she said.

This pivot comes after Canada’s Ambassador to Haiti André François Giroux told CTV News Channel’s Power Play on Monday that embassy staff was “very safe” and had no plan to evacuate, but was “ready for every eventuality.”

In a new interview on Thursday, Giroux — who described himself as the captain of the ship — said with the airport closed and flights cancelled, some basic goods are coming in sporadically.

The ambassador said the pulling of embassy staff was a “very controlled, calm operation,” that has had a “minimal” impact on staffing levels, due to the number of locally engaged staff carrying on in Haiti.

Given the instability and surge in gang violence and attacks on infrastructure, GAC updated its Haiti travel advice on March 10, advising Canadians to “shelter in place” – or limit their movements if they are unable to – as well as stock up on essential food, water and medication.

There are currently close to 3,000 Canadians in Haiti registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service, and the federal emergency response centre has replied to less than 100 inquiries since March 3.

Officials said Thursday that the government is currently in direct text and email contact with Canadians in Haiti about the curfew and other emergency response measures, but so far, there are no plans to offer assisted departures or repatriation flights.

Canada is “planning prudently, but we’re not there yet,” when it comes to assisted departures, Beaulieu said.

GAC has said the government is continuing to “monitor and assess the security situation very closely,” vowing to work in co-ordination with allies on contingences, as the situation evolves.

“This is the sort of planning that we always do. We always have to be ready for every eventuality and if the need is there, I believe we will rise to the occasion,” Giroux said, adding that given the longstanding Canadian travel warnings, he believes the citizens who may be in the country “came here with very open eyes.”

Canada issued a statement yesterday welcoming the news of a political agreement among Haitian stakeholders to move ahead with appointing a transitional presidential council and government, amid the extensive political and humanitarian turmoil that has proliferated since mid-2021, following the assassination of then-president Jovenel Moise.

Ambassador Giroux is one of the diplomatic staff that will remain in Haiti, to “continue to engage Haitian stakeholders and international partners toward the implementation of the political agreement,” GAC said in a statement following Joly’s social media post.

“Having me here facilitates obviously interactions with local players, stakeholders. It is important also I think, to be here to show our support for what is happening, because we are very supportive of the efforts that are taking place. We are very supportive of this transitional government being formed as soon as possible,” Giroux said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the current security situation a “catastrophe” and “extraordinarily challenging,” while describing the role Canada is playing in diplomatic talks with CARICOM nations.

“It is obvious that with the ongoing challenge, as much as the international community will continue to have a role to play, if we want a sustainable solution, that has to be led by Haitians themselves,” Trudeau told reporters during a scrum in Windsor, Ont.

Earlier this week, in the wake of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation, community leaders gathered at Montreal’s Maison d’Haiti to ask the Canadian government to step up its efforts to deal with the crisis shaking their homeland.

Trudeau said Thursday that he spoke with members of the Haitian community last night.

“It is not easy… We are extremely active on this file and will continue to be,” Trudeau said.

With files from CTV News’ Genevieve Beauchemin

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