Canada widens airlift from Haiti to include permanent residents, relatives

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canada on Monday announced expanding of its emergency program to get vulnerable citizens out of Haiti amidst ongoing volatility.

Commencing as early as Wednesday, pending favorable security and weather conditions, Canada is set to expand its assisted departure efforts from Port-au-Prince, according to a statement by Global Affairs Canada.

This extension will encompass Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate eligible family members who wish to depart from Haiti.

Under these operations, individuals will be transported from Port-au-Prince to a secondary safe location and subsequently flown to Montreal via a chartered plane.

"Canada’s assisted departure operation from Haiti to the Dominican Republic is now complete and successfully assisted 153 Canadians to leave Haiti," added the statement.

According to Global Affairs, about 500 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family members reached out to Ottawa in recent weeks seeking for help to leave Haiti.

Haiti has been under siege internally since mid-2021 when gangs took over infrastructure and violent upheaval saw battles for turf. Medical help has evaporated and starvation looms as food supplies are almost non-existent.

A rampage by gangs March 18 targeted previously peaceful upscale neighborhoods in the country’s capital. At least a dozen people were killed.

Thousands have been killed in the conflict while hundreds of thousands have fled the country.

Gangs have burned police stations, stormed the airport and freed about 4,000 inmates from the two largest prisons.

The US began airlifting Americans out of Haiti by helicopter last week.

Meanwhile, a transitional presidential council that is to choose a new leader to replace Ariel Henry is also in turmoil, with Caribbean leaders meeting with officials from the US, Canada, and France to decide how to put the council in place.