There is little question about Canada’s desires to help Haiti deal with its volatile security crisis by helping the country’s beleaguered police force take on armed gangs. But the United States’ neighbor to the north, which this week announced millions of dollars more in new assistance for Haiti, appears to have gotten ahead of itself in its desire to show its commitment.
During a high-level gathering of regional foreign ministers Thursday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the opening of a “joint security coordination cell” in the neighboring Dominican Republic to help coordinate its assistance to the Haitian national police force. The initiative, according to news reports, carries a $20 million price tag.
While announcing the new aid office in her opening remarks during an otherwise closed-door meeting, Joly even seized “the opportunity to thank” her counterpart, Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez Gil, “for hosting this mechanism.”
