KENORA - Greg Rickford, MP-Kenora, joins with residents of the Kenora riding in expressing heartfelt sympathies as we continue to understand the magnitude of the tragic results of the earthquake and the aftershocks in Haiti.
 
“I am proud of the prompt response our government is taking to assist Haiti,” said Rickford, “the devastation is tremendous and I know we will do all that we can to help them. I am especially proud of our government’s announcement this morning to match contributions made by individual Canadians to increase the financial support that will be made.”
 
Our government is deeply saddened by reports of Canadian casualties as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. On the ground, over 100 Canadians have taken refuge at our Embassy in Haiti, and another 48 are being assisted.
 
Canada is taking the appropriate steps to evacuate Canadians out of Haiti. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has announced that later today, the first wave of evacuees has arrived in the Dominican Republic with approximately 100 Canadians on board, and will continue on to Montreal to arrive late this evening. They will be arriving on the Hercules aircraft that travelled to Haiti yesterday.  Over the next few days, our government hopes to evacuate as many Canadians as possible as we continue our operations in Haiti.
 
The Minister of International Cooperation announced this morning, Canada will match the contributions of individual Canadians to eligible Canadian charitable organizations, in support of humanitarian and recovery efforts in Haiti, to a total of $50 million. CIDA will allocate these funds to established Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations who have an established presence in Haiti.
 
The Government of Canada is engaging with the international community to ensure capacity building and coordination on the ground in order to adequately respond to the crisis. The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last evening on the tragic events unfolding in Haiti.  Today, he will speak with the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim. He also plans to speak with Alain Leroy the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations.
 
The Government of Canada is deeply moved by the generosity of Canadians and the out flowing of support. Information is available on the Canada Revenue Agency website for those who wish to make a charitable contribution towards relief efforts in Haiti.  Our government encourages Canadians to consult this information, in order to free our Emergency lines for people in need.
 
Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadian citizens believed to be in Haiti should contact the Emergency Operations Centre by calling 1‑800‑387-3124 or, for those in Ottawa, 613‑943‑1055. They may also send an email to sos@international.gc.ca
 
Canadian citizens in Haiti requiring emergency consular assistance should call Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Emergency Operations Centre collect at 613-996-8885, or send an email to sos@international.gc.ca

The Government will update Canadians as the situation evolves at: http://www.international.gc.ca/humanitarian-humanitaire/earthquake_seisme_haiti.aspx