photo Charles Simmins
Canada's Failed Aid to Haiti
By Roger Annis
Global Research, August 6, 2010
Haiti Liberte - 2010-08-05
The six month mark after Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake saw a flurry of news reports in Canada and around the world. The depictions of the harsh conditions still prevailing for most earthquake victims took many people by surprise. The relative silence of the media over the last few months led many to assume that the international aid effort had accomplished much more than it has.
On the eve of July 12, contradictory or exaggerated claims were made about Canadian government aid to Haiti. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Canwest news agency reported that Canada has committed "more than $1 billion" for Haiti. Yet only days earlier, on July 9, the Quebec French-language daily Le Devoir, and the English-language Canadian Press news agency, reported that Canada has not given a dime to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund established by the March 31 United Nations Donor Conference in New York. So what is the true record of Canada's assistance to Haiti since the earthquake, and what more needs to be done to assist the hundreds of thousands of victims who have received little or no aid?
The Numbers
In a July 9 press release, written as a rebuttal to the aforementioned Le Devoir and Canadian Press reports, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Minister of International Cooperation and Development Bev Oda stated that Canada had contributed $150 million to Haiti in the weeks following the quake. The ministers also said an additional $400 million has been pledged to Haiti for the next two years.
At a subsequent July 12 press conference, the ministers upped the figure, saying that Canada has spent, or is committing, a total of $1.1 billion in aid to Haiti. But their time frame of commitment predates the earthquake considerably, covering the years 2006 to 2012.
Other figures are also misleading. The $150 million figure noted on Jul. 9 reflected spending announcements in January and April. The $400 million figure was announced by Canada at the March 31 UN Donors Conference. Media reports gave the impression that this $400 million is Canada's contribution to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) established at the conference. In fact, Canada's contribution to the Fund is listed on the Fund's website as "$30-$45 million" [funds listed are in US dollars].
On the eve of July 12, contradictory or exaggerated claims were made about Canadian government aid to Haiti. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Canwest news agency reported that Canada has committed "more than $1 billion" for Haiti. Yet only days earlier, on July 9, the Quebec French-language daily Le Devoir, and the English-language Canadian Press news agency, reported that Canada has not given a dime to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund established by the March 31 United Nations Donor Conference in New York. So what is the true record of Canada's assistance to Haiti since the earthquake, and what more needs to be done to assist the hundreds of thousands of victims who have received little or no aid?
The Numbers
In a July 9 press release, written as a rebuttal to the aforementioned Le Devoir and Canadian Press reports, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Minister of International Cooperation and Development Bev Oda stated that Canada had contributed $150 million to Haiti in the weeks following the quake. The ministers also said an additional $400 million has been pledged to Haiti for the next two years.
At a subsequent July 12 press conference, the ministers upped the figure, saying that Canada has spent, or is committing, a total of $1.1 billion in aid to Haiti. But their time frame of commitment predates the earthquake considerably, covering the years 2006 to 2012.
Other figures are also misleading. The $150 million figure noted on Jul. 9 reflected spending announcements in January and April. The $400 million figure was announced by Canada at the March 31 UN Donors Conference. Media reports gave the impression that this $400 million is Canada's contribution to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) established at the conference. In fact, Canada's contribution to the Fund is listed on the Fund's website as "$30-$45 million" [funds listed are in US dollars].
It so happens that $30 million is the minimum payment required to secure a seat on Fund's board of directors. The HRF's spending decisions are controlled by international financial institutions, the Fund's board of directors, and the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission. The latter consists of 26 members, half of whom are non-Haitian. It is chaired by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Max Bellerive.
Few of the countries pledging to the Fund are in a rush to pay up. According to the undated pledge page on the Fund's website, only three countries have met their pledges - Brazil, Australia and Estonia, for a total of US$64 million. Canada says it will pay up "soon." But Cannon and Oda voiced a reason for their delay at the July 12 press conference. They said they are concerned by Bill Clinton's remarks the preceding week in which he criticized laggard donor countries for their failure to pay.
Few of the countries pledging to the Fund are in a rush to pay up. According to the undated pledge page on the Fund's website, only three countries have met their pledges - Brazil, Australia and Estonia, for a total of US$64 million. Canada says it will pay up "soon." But Cannon and Oda voiced a reason for their delay at the July 12 press conference. They said they are concerned by Bill Clinton's remarks the preceding week in which he criticized laggard donor countries for their failure to pay.
Canada's $1.1 Billion
Below is a rough breakdown of the CAN$1.1 billion that Canada says it has spent, or is promising, in Haiti:
* $555 million for 2006-11.* Status: Most of this money predates the earthquake. It largely has funded police and prison institutions as well as massively boycotted 2009 elections.
* $400 million announced on March 31, 2010 and again on Jul. 12.* Status: Promised over the next two years.
* $150 million for short-term earthquake relief. * Status: Given to UN agencies and NGO's, difficult to confirm how much was spent, and where.
* $30-45 million to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund. * Status: Yet to be paid.
* $40 million for debt cancellation.* Status: Much of this dates from the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. It is owed to international financial institutions and is not "earthquake relief."
* Sums spent on Canadian military and police agencies in Haiti. * Status: Amounts unknown and unreported.
Additionally, the Canadian federal government has said it will match $220 million of the donations that individual Canadians gave to charities between Jan. 12 and Feb. 16. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) said in New York on Mar. 31 that half of the $220 million, that is, $110 million, is included in the $400 million announcement. The other half, Minister Oda said on July 12, would go to "the continuing work of humanitarian development [non-governmental organizations] and institutions in their efforts." In other words, it is not new money at all.
Below is a rough breakdown of the CAN$1.1 billion that Canada says it has spent, or is promising, in Haiti:
* $555 million for 2006-11.* Status: Most of this money predates the earthquake. It largely has funded police and prison institutions as well as massively boycotted 2009 elections.
* $400 million announced on March 31, 2010 and again on Jul. 12.* Status: Promised over the next two years.
* $150 million for short-term earthquake relief. * Status: Given to UN agencies and NGO's, difficult to confirm how much was spent, and where.
* $30-45 million to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund. * Status: Yet to be paid.
* $40 million for debt cancellation.* Status: Much of this dates from the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. It is owed to international financial institutions and is not "earthquake relief."
* Sums spent on Canadian military and police agencies in Haiti. * Status: Amounts unknown and unreported.
Additionally, the Canadian federal government has said it will match $220 million of the donations that individual Canadians gave to charities between Jan. 12 and Feb. 16. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) said in New York on Mar. 31 that half of the $220 million, that is, $110 million, is included in the $400 million announcement. The other half, Minister Oda said on July 12, would go to "the continuing work of humanitarian development [non-governmental organizations] and institutions in their efforts." In other words, it is not new money at all.
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