Glen Pearson responds to the Prime Minister’s assessment of Canadian power in Haiti and the perceived implication contained therein.
Glen Pearson responds to the Prime Minister’s assessment of Canadian power in Haiti and the perceived implication contained therein.
Canada’s investment in Haiti goes back to 1963, when the government of day moved in quickly to defend Canadian citizens trapped on the island in the face of political tensions.That was soft power. In 1993, under a Liberal government, Canada was part of a multinational force that was called to Haiti after then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown. Canada along with the U.S, Argentina, France and the Netherlands sent warships to enforce an embargo on Haiti’s oil, arms and foreign funds. That was hard power, and Stephen Harper knows it.