Achi news desk-
MONTREAL –
Canada will offer an extra evacuation flight out of Haiti next week because of a surge in requests to flee the Caribbean country that poured in just as Canada was about to wind down its efforts, the federal government said today Sunday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a message on X that officials had recorded a number of additional requests leading up to what was supposed to be the last flight from the country organized by the government.
“As our assisted departures out of Haiti come to an end, we have seen an influx of last-minute requests for help,” he wrote on the social media platform on Sunday. “For those who missed the flight today, we will have an additional flight next week.”
A government-organized flight left Sunday and was expected to be the last of three as Canada winds down evacuation efforts in Haiti, which is battling gang violence and food and medicine shortages.
“Obviously the situation in Haiti is extremely difficult, which is why over the last few years, Canada has been deeply, deeply involved in support of the Haitian national police, in international diplomatic efforts to bring about democratic stability to Haiti, and we are there. for vulnerable Canadians who happen to be in Haiti,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday during an unrelated pre-budget announcement in Montreal.
“We started our evacuation several weeks ago and we’re going to continue to make sure we’re there to support people as much as possible.”
On the sidelines of a Montreal news conference, Joly said the extra flight would satisfy everyone’s concerns.
Joly said on Friday that her department had been “closely monitoring” requests for help and had decided that no further flights would be needed.
He announced last week that Canada would use helicopters to get Canadians from the capital Port-au-Prince to an undisclosed location, then bring them to Montreal on a chartered flight.
One flight left on Wednesday, followed by another on Friday as well as a Sunday departure.
Canada had previously airlifted people to the Dominican Republic, but only citizens with Canadian passports were eligible to make the trip. Permanent residents were excluded.
Those traveling to Montreal pay the equivalent of a commercial ticket, while Canadians brought to the Dominican Republic are responsible for their own accommodation and flights home, with World Affairs- widely offering help as needed.
Global Affairs Canada said earlier this week that it has helped more than 250 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their close relatives leave Haiti.
