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Expect more Canadian casualties in Haiti: Cannon
Last Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010 | 1:03 PM ET
CBC News
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says he expects there will be more Canadian casualties from the earthquake in Haiti. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says around 100 Canadians safely evacuated from quake-ravaged Haiti are expected to arrive in Canada Thursday evening but cautioned there could be more Canadian casualties.
So far, three Canadians ? a Montreal couple and an Ontario nurse ? have been confirmed among the dead.
"We are deeply saddened by reports of Canadian casualties as a result of the earthquake in Haiti," Cannon told a news conference on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, the reality in the aftermath of the catastrophic events is that we expect more casualties to be reported as search and rescue operations unfold."
Haiti contacts
Canadians with family in Haiti can call the Foreign Affairs Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa at 800-387-3124, 613-943-1055, or email sos@international.gc.ca. Canadians in Haiti can get in touch with Canadian Embassy officials in Port-au-Prince by calling 613-996-8885.
The first wave of Canadian evacuees from Haiti arrived in the Dominican Republic Wednesday night and will be transported to Montreal Thursday on a Hercules C-130 aircraft. The aircraft will continue to be used to transport Canadians back to Canada.
Cannon said evacuation efforts continue and that more than 100 Canadians in Haiti have taken refuge in the Canadian Embassy, while another 48 are being assisted.
"Those people who are injured, who need medical assistance, will be the first to leave," Cannon said.
Cannon said 24 staff at the Canadian mission in the Haitian capital were accounted for, as were five military personnel.
How to help
To help those affected by the earthquake, here's a list of organizations accepting donations.
Two of the three Canadians killed in the quake have been identified as Georges Anglade, a Montreal university professor for 30 years, and his wife, Mireille. They were visiting friends in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and were killed when the house they were in collapsed.
The third victim was Elmira, Ont., nurse Yvonne Martin, who arrived in Haiti's capital on Tuesday afternoon, about 90 minutes before the earthquake hit.
Martin was among a contingent of six nurses from the Kitchener-Waterloo area sent to Haiti by the Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church.
At the time the quake hit, 82 Canadian police officers were in Haiti teaching law enforcement. Two officers were unaccounted for Wednesday, said spokeswoman Patricia Flood.
The missing Mounties are Supt. Doug Coates from Ottawa headquarters and Sgt. Mark Gallagher of Nova Scotia.
Former Liberal MP Serge Marcil, who now works in the private sector, is also missing. He had only been in Port-au-Prince a couple of hours when the quake happened.
Marcil, who is also a former member of the Quebec legislature, was supposed to stay at the Montana Hotel, one of many buildings that collapsed. It is not known whether he had reached the hotel when the earthquake struck.
UN spokeswoman Alexandra Duguay was also unaccounted for.
About 6,000 Canadian citizens live in Haiti, but only 700 are registered with the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Cannon said.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/14/haiti-canadians.html
Last Updated: Thursday, January 14, 2010 | 1:03 PM ET
CBC News
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says around 100 Canadians safely evacuated from quake-ravaged Haiti are expected to arrive in Canada Thursday evening but cautioned there could be more Canadian casualties.
So far, three Canadians ? a Montreal couple and an Ontario nurse ? have been confirmed among the dead.
"We are deeply saddened by reports of Canadian casualties as a result of the earthquake in Haiti," Cannon told a news conference on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, the reality in the aftermath of the catastrophic events is that we expect more casualties to be reported as search and rescue operations unfold."
Haiti contacts
Canadians with family in Haiti can call the Foreign Affairs Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa at 800-387-3124, 613-943-1055, or email sos@international.gc.ca. Canadians in Haiti can get in touch with Canadian Embassy officials in Port-au-Prince by calling 613-996-8885.
The first wave of Canadian evacuees from Haiti arrived in the Dominican Republic Wednesday night and will be transported to Montreal Thursday on a Hercules C-130 aircraft. The aircraft will continue to be used to transport Canadians back to Canada.
Cannon said evacuation efforts continue and that more than 100 Canadians in Haiti have taken refuge in the Canadian Embassy, while another 48 are being assisted.
"Those people who are injured, who need medical assistance, will be the first to leave," Cannon said.
Cannon said 24 staff at the Canadian mission in the Haitian capital were accounted for, as were five military personnel.
How to help
To help those affected by the earthquake, here's a list of organizations accepting donations.
Two of the three Canadians killed in the quake have been identified as Georges Anglade, a Montreal university professor for 30 years, and his wife, Mireille. They were visiting friends in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and were killed when the house they were in collapsed.
The third victim was Elmira, Ont., nurse Yvonne Martin, who arrived in Haiti's capital on Tuesday afternoon, about 90 minutes before the earthquake hit.
Martin was among a contingent of six nurses from the Kitchener-Waterloo area sent to Haiti by the Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church.
At the time the quake hit, 82 Canadian police officers were in Haiti teaching law enforcement. Two officers were unaccounted for Wednesday, said spokeswoman Patricia Flood.
The missing Mounties are Supt. Doug Coates from Ottawa headquarters and Sgt. Mark Gallagher of Nova Scotia.
Former Liberal MP Serge Marcil, who now works in the private sector, is also missing. He had only been in Port-au-Prince a couple of hours when the quake happened.
Marcil, who is also a former member of the Quebec legislature, was supposed to stay at the Montana Hotel, one of many buildings that collapsed. It is not known whether he had reached the hotel when the earthquake struck.
UN spokeswoman Alexandra Duguay was also unaccounted for.
About 6,000 Canadian citizens live in Haiti, but only 700 are registered with the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Cannon said.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/14/haiti-canadians.html