ARTICLE - CANADIAN EMASSY SERVICES LIMITED

SERVICES AT CANADIAN EMBASSY IN HAITI LIMITED
(Montreal Gazette) - By Carol Sanders, Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG — More than a year after the earthquake, the Canadian Embassy in Haiti is still not open to Haitians who want to visit relatives in Canada.

"You have to get to the Dominican Republic," said a Winnipeg woman trying to bring her mom in Haiti for a visit to get a break from the devastation caused by the earthquake and a more recent cholera outbreak.

"The Brazilian embassy is open. The American embassy is open. The French embassy is open.

The Canadian Embassy is not," said the woman, who feared publicizing her name could hurt her mother's chances of getting a visa.

The Embassy of Canada in Port-au-Prince was damaged by the earthquake and services are extremely limited, the federal government says.

"C.I.C. had to balance its processing capacity with its desire to help those with family in Canada," a Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman said in an email. "We will continue to process family class applications from Haitians affected by the disaster as quickly as possible."

But Haitians looking for a visa have to submit their applications to other offices in the area. The closest is in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, a 10-hour bus ride from Port-au-Prince.

The Winnipeg Haitian woman can't see why prosperous Canada hasn't repaired the embassy and fully restored services.

"After 12 months, can we still have the same problem? I don't think so."

People have to hope they are allowed into the Dominican Republic, she said. In its capital, Santo Domingo, they have to pay for their food and lodging while they wait to find out if their Canadian visa application is approved.

C.I.C. says it's limiting its services at the embassy in Haiti for health, safety, and security reasons, amid the cholera outbreak and post-election violence.

Another Winnipegger from Port-au-Prince understands Canada's concern, noting the Canadian Embassy is located on a wide avenue that's a hot spot for big public protests.

"With the electoral problems, there have been demonstrations in the streets and people throwing rocks," said Arisnel Mesidor. He returned to Haiti last year to look for his wife shortly after the killer earthquake hit, and had to travel to the Dominican Republic to get into Haiti. In Haiti, the Canadian citizen was able to make emergency arrangements to bring his wife to Canada to live in safety.

They just had a baby Jan. 7 and hope grandparents in Haiti may one day come to visit
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Still, Mesidor feels for Haitian people who have to travel to the Dominican Republic to apply for a visa. He noted it's difficult for Haitians to cross the border into the Dominican Republic at the best of times.