Skip to content

Trudeau says Canadians ‘have to intervene’ somehow in Haiti, convenes incident group

Incident Response Group meets only when something has ‘major implications for Canada’
30900345_web1_20221102151132-6362c66bc3286e13a1804021jpeg
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question from the opposition during Question Period, Wednesday, November 2, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet today with key cabinet ministers about the situation in Haiti.

The collection of cabinet ministers known as the Incident Response Group meets only when something has “major implications for Canada.”

Trudeau says Canada is weighing how to respond to Haiti’s request for military intervention, amid widespread violence and a deadly cholera outbreak.

The United States supports that idea but says it won’t be steering such a response, while arguing Canada would be an ideal leader.

Trudeau says he knows that many Haitians are uncomfortable with the idea of a foreign military intervention, but he told reporters in French that “we have to intervene in one way or another.”

Haiti’s ambassador to Canada is scheduled to appear before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee later today.

RELATED: Delegation returns from Haiti amid high expectations for Canadian leadership