Quebec calls for an end to violence in Haiti
In the middle, the leader of the official opposition, Marc Tanguay, and the deputies Michelle Setlakwe, Madwa-Nika Cadet and Frantz Benjamin with several members of the Haitian community.
The National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion which strongly condemns all forms of violence perpetrated by armed gangs in Haiti and expresses its support for the Haitian people.
The motion has been tabled by Outremont Liberal MP Michelle Setlakwe. “The information coming to us from Haiti is extremely disturbing,” said the elected official in a press release issued following the unanimous vote.
Ajd, l’@AssnatQc a adopté une motion à l’unanimité pour reconnaître la crise que subit Haïti et condamner avec vigueur toutes formes de violences perpétrées par les bandes armées pour infliger la terreur aux populations locales et souhaite exprimer son soutien au peuple. #AssNat pic.twitter.com/J0x3PCcyPD
— Monsef Derraji (@monsefderraji) March 30, 2023
Haiti is currently facing an unprecedented climate of insecurity, marked by numerous kidnappings – on average five per day – and cases of sexual violence against women, including minors. On March 21, the United Nations reported that since the beginning of 2023, more than 530 people have been killed and 277 others kidnapped in incidents that take place between gangs in the capital of Port-au-Prince. There are also more than 160,000 displaced people, again according to UN figures.
I dare not imagine the feelings that inhabit the Quebecois of ;Haitian origin. I want to give them my full support and my thoughts are with them.
Michelle Setlakwe, Official Opposition Critic for International Relations and La Francophonie
The motion adopted today also calls on the Government of Quebec to continue to support the people of Haiti in its fields of competence and to sensitize the partners to the current Haitian reality. She affirms that “the solution to the crisis must be Haitian” and recalls that “collaboration between local actors in order to put in place a democratic process leading to elections is necessary”.
At least three deputies of the National Assembly are of Haitian origin, two of the CAQ, Lionel Carmant and Shirley Dorismond, and the liberal Frantz Benjamin.
