Visit of the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Haiti
From May 19 to 23, 2017, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Haiti. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Karen Furey, as well as the Honourable Jim Munson, Senator, Paul E. McIntyre, Q.C., Senator, and Honourable Françoise Mégie, Senator. Accompanying the delegation were Mr. Stuart Barnable, Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the Senate, Mr. Mike McDonald, Director of Senate Corporate Security, and Mr. Simon Larouche, Secretary to the delegation.
In Port-au-Prince, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Jovenel Moïse, President of the Republic of Haiti;
- His Excellency, Jack Guy Lafontant, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti
- His Excellency Youri Latortue, President of the Senate;
- His Excellency Gérald Oriol Jr., State Secretary to the Integration of People with Disabilities;
- Ms. Susan D. Page, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (Rule of Law) of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The delegation also met various renowned Haitians and key Canadian partners in the country.
While in Haiti, the delegation visited the Bernard Mevs Hospital, a private hospital run in partnership with Project Medishare and Broken Earth, and the Argentine Belgarde National School, which benefits from the United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) School Feeding Program in Haiti, a program supported by the Government of Canada. The delegation also laid a wreath at the Memorial Monument in honour of UN staff members who were killed during the 2010 earthquake.
The main objectives of the visit to Haiti were to: strengthen relations between both countries; observe first-hand the needs of Haitian society and the development assistance offered by Canada; encourage ongoing parliamentary dialogue while affirming the support of the Parliament of Canada for Haitian democratic institutions; and promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law.