Categories: Need to know

Canadian government pledges $93-million for Haiti

Bev Oda announces support for health care, education and agriculture initiatives

by macleans.ca on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 7:10pm - 11 Comments

It’s been one year since the quake in Haiti, and the Canadian government has announced a pledge of more than $93-million for eight new initiatives to improve children’s health, education, and agriculture in the island nation. Bev Oda, the International Cooperation Minister, announced the Canadian support, which will come from the $400-million reconstruction fund that Ottawa committed last year. Programs include Canadian backing for a Pan-American Health Organization project to provide free health care for three million women and young children, backing for the building of 10 maternity clinics, a hospital maternity ward in Gonaives, and funds for a project to build 35 schools. It also backed programs to aid farmers and provide food for rural families. Despite these efforts, the federal government and other Western nations that donated money are facing criticism over not having done enough in the last 12 months.

Globe and Mail

Tags: Haiti

Leo

This is so sad. How are they ever going to recover?

"One year after an earthquake devastated Haiti, the country has launched into a post-disaster baby boom. The birth rate has tripled in spite of the fact that the country is experiencing the most uncertainty its people have witnessed in decades."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/project…

Leo

This is even worse.

Trafficking, sexual exploitation of Haitian children in the Dominican Republic on the rise

"800 children a month are brought into the Dominican Republic through different northern border crossings by a loose network of dealers" http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/23/v-print/188…

Mark

Y'know, it would be nice if Canadian NEWS magazines actually did some actual investigative reporting. So Canada announces $93-million in funding. Ah, but it comes out of already-pledged $400-million in funding. And how much of that funding has actually been delivered to date? The G&M article noted by Leo above takes the international community to task for promising much, delivering little, and/or delivering in an uncoordinated, disastrous, way. I'm all for patting ourselves on the back when we've done something good, but even the most objective observer will conclude that Canada has not lived up to its own hype on this one…

briguyhfx

It should also be noted that this not-new $93 million was part of the matching fund that the government pledged in response to the generous private donations of Canadians. So it's really a reflection of the generosity of everyday Canadians in the immediate wake of the disaster, photo-op notwithstanding.

RumRum

It is not our job to rescue Haiti forever.
Oh wait — they'll just all hop on some large freighters and come here as refugees……
Mark

No, RumRum, they hop on makeshift "boats" and try to make it to Florida, where they are turned away at the 20-mile limit and (usually) drown while trying to make another port. Canada is a bit too far away for most. The economic policies of the western nations are in large part to blame for the continuing suffering of the Haitian people and the destruction of their economy. Bill Clinton admitted feeling great guilt to being a part of the problem, when the USA forced Haiti to open its borders to subsidized U.S. rice, devastating the domestic rice producers. Unless you have at least a tacit understanding of geopolitics, global trade, and the altogether negative policies imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on developing nations, may I suggest that you back away from the keyboard? Thanks very much.

Eddie

Nowhere as far from Haiti as Sri Lanka is. And the tamils made it thru. these guys can too. What I don't understand is this: They can make the immense effort to run from their country and travel long and dangerous journeys, but they can't use all that desperate energy and brain work to work to benefit their country when it needs them the most.

TorontoChick

Ever heard of immigration? Yeah, that's the system my mother and aunt utilized when they came here 40 YEARS AGO. My aunt now employs Canadian-born citizens with her landscaping business and provides immigrants and Canadian-born citizens alike with rental homes since she got into real estate as well 10 years ago. On her behalf, YOU'RE WELCOME.

Michael

Mark so what is the fix?
Mandatory Jedi

It will take more then heaps and heaps of money to fix what ails Haiti.
JT2011

Oh BULL! Everything starts with the individual and they just can't seem to get it together. I mean really….hacking people to death because they think they caused the cholera outbreak!