On Monday, Canada launched a program to get its citizens out of Haiti as the Caribbean nation grapples with a surge in gang violence, political instability, and a widening humanitarian crisis.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada had airlifted 18 Canadians out of Haiti as assisted departures began from the Caribbean nation.
Canada Airlifting Citizens Out of Haiti
Joly told reporters in Ottawa that her government would assist “the most vulnerable Canadians” in fleeing Haiti for the neighboring Dominican Republic. Joly said this includes Canadian citizens with medical conditions or those who have children.
“At present, the Dominican Republic has strict [eligibility] requirements for all those entering the country. Only Canadian citizens with a valid Canadian passport will be eligible for this assisted departure,” Joly told reporters.
Canada is home to nearly 180,000 people of Haitian descent, and Haitian Canadians have been pleading with the government to aid their relatives who are trapped in Haiti during a weeks-long spike in deadly violence.
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