How much has Canada really spent, or is promising to spend, in response to the massive Haiti earthquake last January? Different sources, including two top Canadian ministers, offer conflicting figures.Quebec’s French-language newspaper Le Devoir and the Canadian Press news agency reported that Canada has yet to donate to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund created during a U.N. donor conference in New York. A few days after, two other news agencies said Canada has committed more than 1 billion Canadian dollars for Haiti.“So what is the true record of Canada’s assistance to Haiti since the earthquake, and what more needs to be done to assist the hundreds of thousands of victims who have received little or no aid?” Roger Annis, a coordinator of the Canada Haiti Action Network, asks in an article published on Haiti Liberte.Annis notes that statements by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Minister for International Cooperation and Development Bev Oda have added to the confusion. Cannon and Oda said in July 9 press release that Canada contributed 150 million Canadian dollars to Haiti immediately after the earthquake and pledged to provide an additional 400 million Canadian dollars over the next two years, Annis said. The two ministers upped this to 1.1 billion Canadian dollars in a subsequent conference.“But their time frame of commitment predates the earthquake considerably, covering the years 2006 to 2012,” Annis argues. “Other figures are also misleading. The $150 million figure noted on July 9 reflected spending announcements in January and April. The $400 million figure was announced by Canada at the March 31 U.N. Donors Conference. Media reports gave the impression that this $400 million is Canada’s contribution to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) established at the conference.” He adds that, according to the the Haiti Reconstruction Fund’s website, Canada promised USD30 million to USD45 million. Annis provides a rough breakdown of the 1.1 billion Canadian dollars floated by the media and the two ministers: - 555 million Canadian dollars for 2006-2011, which mostly predates the earthquake. It largely funded prison and police institutions. - 400 million Canadian dollars promised over the next two years.- 150 million Canadian dollars for short-term earthquake-relief, which was given to U.N. Agencies and non-governmental organizations.- 30 million to 45 million Canadian dollars for the Haiti Reconstruction Fund.- 40 million Canadian dollars worth of debt relief- Unknown sums spent on Canadian police agencies and the military in Haiti.
