A popular uprising has paralyzed life in much of Haiti. While police are violently suppressing protesters, don’t expect Canadian officials to criticize security forces they fund. Major centres across Haiti have been blocked for days. Protesters want foreign appointed leader Ariel Henry to go. They are angry about insecurity and the cost-of-living. Stoking the growing... Continue Reading →
Racial capitalism and the betrayal of Haiti
Domination by multinational corporations and “light skinned” local capitalists — that’s the story of Haiti as illustrated by one recent event. The day after his already paper-thin constitutional legitimacy completely eroded Jovenel Moïse gave significant amounts of Haitian land to a light skinned oligarch working with Coca-Cola. According to most Haitian constitutional authorities and institutions,... Continue Reading →
Haitian official stashes wealth in Montréal
Recent media reports of a Haitian official stashing wealth in Montréal property ignore a key element of the story: Canada’s contribution to enabling Haitian corruption. As a neo-Duvalierist regime becomes ever more dictatorial it’s also worth revisiting Canada’s history in facilitating fraud and money laundering in the hemisphere’s most impoverished nation. Recently La Presse reported... Continue Reading →
Canada backs revival of Duvalierism in Haiti
The ghosts of dictators “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvalier still haunt Haiti. Canada seems willing to support a return of their methods in the Caribbean nation. Sunday will be bittersweet for many Haitians. February 7 is usually a day to commemorate the defeat of the Duvalier dictatorship, but this year the date... Continue Reading →
Canada supports Unconstitutional Haitian Leader as it seeks to overthrow Venezuela’s President
Add this to the “you can’t make this stuff up” file: Canada’s foreign minister recently met his Haitian counterpart, who is part of a de facto administration illegally rewriting the constitution, to discuss Venezuela’s supposed democracy deficiency. Apparently, Ottawa wants a Haitian regime extending its term and criminalizing protest to maintain its support for Juan... Continue Reading →
Time to refocus from Hong Kong to Haiti
For those who support a truly just foreign policy comparing Canadian politicians’ reactions to protests in Hong Kong and the slightly more populous Haiti is instructive. It reveals the extent to which this country’s politicians are forced to align with the US Empire. Despite hundreds of thousands of Canadians having close ties with both Haiti... Continue Reading →
Liberal ‘feminist’ policy funds Haitian police (for real)
An important component of Trudeau’s international branding has been his government’s purported “feminist foreign policy”. A recent aid contract to Haiti highlights the hollowness of these Liberal claims. Under its Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) the Trudeau government has tendered a $12.5 million contract in operational support to the Haitian police. According to Buyandsell.gc.ca, “the... Continue Reading →
Propaganda or principle? Trudeau on Venezuela and Haiti
Propaganda or principle? In the world of foreign affairs the latter is often claimed but the former is much more common. One way to evaluate the seriousness of the Trudeau government’s stated objectives in seeking to oust Venezuela’s government is to examine their policy elsewhere in the Caribbean. While they talk about the constitution, democracy... Continue Reading →
The word they won’t use to describe Canada’s role in Haiti
“Say my name, say my name If no one is around you Say baby I love you If you ain’t runnin’ game Say my name, say my name You actin’ kinda shady Ain’t callin’ me baby” -- Destiny’s Child Something you can’t name is very difficult to talk about. Canada’s role in Haiti... Continue Reading →
Remarkable Haitian revolt targets Canada
Haiti is the site of the most sustained popular uprising among many that are currently sweeping the globe. It’s also the most explicitly anti-imperialist, which is part of the reason why it has received the least coverage. For six weeks much of Port-au-Prince has been shuttered in the longest in a series of strikes since... Continue Reading →
Canadian imperialism in Haiti in the spotlight
Sustained committed activism is unraveling the dominant media’s shameful blackout of Canadian imperialism in Haiti. But, the bias against putting Canadian policy in a negative light is such that small breakthroughs require tremendous effort. On Monday 15 Haitian community members and allies occupied Justin Trudeau’s election office for a little over three hours. The Solidarité... Continue Reading →
Trudeau ‘feminizes’ support for corrupt and repressive Haitian president
The Trudeau Liberals are attempting to “feminize” their support of an illegitimate government hated by the vast majority of Haitians. And Radio-Canada seems to have fallen for it. After Radio-Canada published a story about nine of eighteen ministers in Jovenel Moïse’s newly proposed government being women, Haitian Canadian feminist Jennie-Laure Sully replied, “Haitians of all... Continue Reading →
Canadian military in Haiti. Why?
Canadian troops may have recently been deployed to Haiti, even though the government has not asked Parliament or consulted the public for approval to send soldiers to that country. Last week the Haiti Information Project photographed heavily-armed Canadian troops patrolling the Port-au-Prince airport. According to a knowledgeable source I emailed the photos to, they were probably special... Continue Reading →
Canadian policy on Venezuela, Haiti reveals hypocrisy that media ignores
If the dominant media was serious about holding the Canadian government to account for its foreign policy decisions, there would be numerous stories pointing out the hypocrisy of Ottawa’s response to recent political developments in Haiti and Venezuela. Instead silence, or worse, cheer-leading. Venezuela is a deeply divided society. Maybe a quarter of Venezuelans want... Continue Reading →
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