It has now been a week since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated much of Haiti leaving thousands dead and an estimated 1.5 million homeless. Since then we have seen the nations and people of the world, including Canada, come together to offer aid and support. On behalf of all New Democrats, we send our condolences and support to the people of Haiti and the Canadian-Haitian community. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

With 12 dead and 699 still missing, Canada has not been immune from the tragedy. Among the dead are four employees of the Government of Canada who were part of Canada’s efforts to assist Haiti with ongoing development. These women and men died serving their country, and serving the Haitian people, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones.

Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadians believed to be in the affected area should contact Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada at 1-800-387-3124.

In the days and weeks ahead, our thoughts will continue to be with the thousands of people affected by this disaster and we will continue to do anything we can to assist. We encourage all Canadians to support the relief work by donating what they can to one of the major Canadian humanitarian organizations working on disaster relief efforts.

To make donations:

Doctors Without Borders [5]
1-800-982-7903

The Humanitarian Coalition [6]
1-800-464-9154

Red Cross [7]
1-800-418-1111

UNICEF [8]
1-800-567-4483