December 11, 2004
Montreal, Quebec

Check against delivery

Mr. Prime Minister,

Ladies and Gentlemen ministers of the Government of Haiti,

Mr. Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Ladies and Gentlemen ministers of the Government of Québec,

Ladies and Gentlemen representatives of countries friendly to Haiti,

Compatriots and members of the great Haitian Diaspora in Canada,

Delegates from the Haitian diasporas elsewhere in the world,

Distinguished Guests:

Let me first wish you a very warm welcome to Montreal, the city with Canada's largest concentration of members of the Haitian Diaspora. I especially want to thank all who are present at this event that is so important in advancing the cause of Haiti, at cause which is very near to my heart.

Let me take advantage of your presence here to emphasize the important contribution made by your community to the Canadian nation. For decades, generations of Haitians have proven to be a source of enrichment to the Canadian mosaic and are today playing an enviable part in all sectors of our society. Your integration among us has enabled us to form unique ties between Canada and Haiti. This deep attachment between the people of Haiti and of Canada, and especially of Quebec, was front and centre in the outpouring of solidarity seen at the time of the Gonaives tragedy. My congratulations to those who showed the kind of compassion on which our collective identity is built.

A year ago almost to the day I took up my responsibilities as Prime Minister of Canada. From the outset I clearly signaled my intention to have Canada take a leadership role in providing the international support needed to produce a blueprint for Haitian society. I have continued to send that signal ever since. In the first days of the crisis that beset Haiti early last March, Canada responded by sending a sizable stabilization force for six months.

Since July, Canada has deployed more than 100 police officers in the multinational peacekeeping force. Canada has also joined with the provisional government and with various players in the international community in outlining a broad framework for interim cooperation. Back in July, we announced massive support of $180M for the same framework of interim cooperation aimed at putting in place a reconstruction plan for Haiti and for building a democratic order there as well. Canada will also join in major job creation efforts.

And since the conference in Washington last July, in all the international forums, with all our partners, we have constantly discussed and signaled our interest in our brother country so important in the Hemisphere. Early in the fall, for example, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I talked with numerous world leaders about Haiti. Last November 14, I visited Haiti with a contingent of about ten Canadian parliamentarians. We engaged in a forthright dialogue not only with the members of the provisional government, but with the representatives of civil society and of all the main political parties, including Lavalas, assembled there.

The messages that we gave underscored the fundamental importance of national dialogue and of mobilizing for reconstruction and for democratic order. We pointed out that we must build on the future, not on nostalgia for the past. We also emphasized Canada's commitment to providing long-term support.

When in Brazil, our delegation paid tribute to the formidable undertaking of President Lula's government at the head of MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping contingent. Then, at the Francophone Summit in Burkina Faso, we supported the international commitment to Haiti in the Ouagadougou Declaration; moreover, with other partners in the Francophonie, we initiated concrete projects supporting judicial reform in Haiti.

Canada will be contributing with the European Union and the Organization of the Francophonie toward improving the judicial system. More specifically, the project will support the training of magistrates. It will develop and strengthen the capacities of the peace tribunals. It will develop a system of mediation and training for judge mediators. It will establish a small claims court, and will endeavor to modernize penal procedure. The program will also support the preparation and publication of a general review of Haitian law and of Supreme Court decisions.

Today Haiti finds itself again at a crossroads. The opportunity is there for a new start, for reconstruction based on the rule of law, democracy, security and the possibility of decent living conditions for all Haitians. Canada intends to stand with the Haitian people to help them take up this new challenge under the leadership of the transitional government. On the strength of its ongoing commitment, the Haitian community in Canada, and in other countries, must play a key part in the reconstruction of Haiti.

What I am proposing today is that you become prominent partners in this reconstruction and in the work being done by Canada and other countries in Haiti. Here is what we are going to do.
In health education, we have already done much in cooperation with La Fondation Gérin-Lajoie, Tecsult, CAC, CECI and a number of other organizations, including ROCAHD (Rassemblement des organisations Canado-haïtiennes pour le développement--Association of Canada-Haiti organizations for development). We plan to increase our support even further in these areas vital to Haiti's future.

In the area of political governance, we will contribute with other countries toward financing the costs of the 2005 elections. We will also accompany the electoral process with the United Nations and the OAS.

In the energy field, thanks to our efforts in collaboration with Hydro Quebec in Jacmel, where for the past six years electricity has been available round-the-clock, we now have something to build upon and to adapt to other secondary towns and cities in Haiti.

We are already providing strong support for the police and we are going to do more. In addition to the justice initiative that I already talked about, we are rehabilitating law courts and supporting organizations involved in promoting human rights, especially women's rights. At the request of Prime Minister Latortue, we are also considering the possibility of financing the "rail route" providing a second outlet from Port-au-Prince to the south. We have also come to the aid of populations suffering from humanitarian disasters.

Canada has spent $15 million in aid since 2004. With this in mind, I am confident that the international community will go a long way to assist Haiti, but it cannot fulfill its commitments without there being a national reconciliation among all Haitians. The two go hand in hand. That is where your primary responsibility lies.

I know how willing you are to contribute to toward security, disarmament, economic reconstruction, reconciliation and renewal of the democratic process in Haiti. Violence is a serious hindrance to improved living conditions for Haitians. An urgent need exists for measures to ensure security by disarmament. However, MINUSTAH cannot succeed alone. The success of its mandate depends on effective coordination with a Haitian police force and a strengthened, efficient, integrated judicial system.

The people are eagerly awaiting concrete results. The need for you to take action now in order to meet the expectations of Haitians is urgent. These challenges can only be faced with a national reconciliation involving all of the players in Haitian society, including the Lavalas party. This is an essential step in the renewal of the democratic process.

Democracy is the right of every Haitian citizen. It is a condition absolutely essential to improving the economic and social welfare of each citizen. The elections of 2005 must symbolize this renewed democracy. There is room for everyone in this undertaking, but in order to succeed, the political parties and the civil society absolutely must set aside the bitter feelings from the past. We must look to the future if Haiti is to emerge from the downward spiral of violence and poverty.
The future of the country belongs to the people of Haiti themselves. Together, they are responsible for reaching a consensus on values, for creating institutions and for forming a society of security, harmony and prosperity.

I reiterate today not only Canada's support for Haiti in the long term, but also my own pledge to support your efforts and your contributions in this undertaking. I am confident that the discussions and projects planned for today will focus on the fundamentals. We will take a careful look at the answers you provide, because your contribution is essential. Yours is the voice both of the heart and of reason. I am convinced that all of you in the Diaspora have unique opportunities to make a tremendous contribution to the efforts at reconstruction in Haiti, even beyond your already exceptional financial support for your country of origin.

I cannot adequately express my admiration for this contribution and for your determination to play a historic role for your country. I hope that this meeting will lead to concrete proposals for action, and to proposals and mechanisms for managing and multiplying efforts to implement the objectives of the interim cooperation framework.

Thank you very much.