Canada plans to assist more individuals in departing Haiti as a result of a surge in last-minute requests for aid.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a message on X that officials received many extra requests before the last planned government flight out of the country.
“As we were finishing helping people leave Haiti, we started getting a lot of last-minute requests for assistance,” she posted on social media on Sunday. “If you missed today’s flight, don’t worry. We will have another flight next week. “
The government arranged a flight on Sunday, which was likely the last one, to bring Canadians home from Haiti. This is because Haiti is dealing with a lot of gang violence and doesn’t have enough food and medicine.
“The situation in Haiti is really tough. That’s why Canada has been helping the Haitian national police and working with other countries to bring stability to Haiti. We also help Canadians who are in Haiti and need support,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a per-budget announcement in Montreal.
“Webegan moving people to safety several weeks ago and we will keep helping them as much as we can. “
During the Montreal news conference, Joly said the extra flight would make everyone happy.
Joly said on Friday that her department has been keeping a close eye on requests for help and has decided that no more flights are necessary.
Last week, she said that Canada will use helicopters to take Canadians from Port-au-Prince to a secret place, and then fly them to Montreal on a special plane.
One flight leaves on Wednesday, then another on Friday, and finally one on Sunday.
Canada was using helicopters to bring people to the Dominican Republic, but only people with Canadian passports could go. People who were allowed to stay in a place for a longtime were not allowed to be part of something.
People going to Montreal pay for their own plane ticket, just like they would for a regular flight. But Canadians who were in the Dominican Republic had to pay for their own place to stay and their flight back home. The government helped them if they needed it.
Earlier this week, Global Affairs Canada said it helped over 250 Canadians and their close family members leave Haiti.