Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves as he boards a government plane at the airport in Ottawa, Thursday, June 10, 2021. Trudeau will be travelling to the Bahamas next week to meet with his counterparts from 20 Caribbean governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be travelling to the Bahamas next week to meet with his counterparts from 20 Caribbean governments.
A release from Trudeau’s office says he will be in Nassau on Feb. 15 and 16 as a special guest of the 44th Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, commonly referred to as Caricom.
The statement says Haiti will be a key discussion topic as leaders wrestle with ways to support a country beset by political instability and rising gang violence.
Hundreds have been killed and kidnapped by gangs who have filled a power vacuum in Haiti, where no elections have taken place since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Haitian government has called for international military support to stabilize the country, and U.S. officials have said Canada would be an ideal option to lead such a force, but Trudeau has said Ottawa will only act based on a political consensus of Haitians.
Canada announced last week it sent a long-range patrol aircraft to Haiti to help monitor gang activity, co-ordinate the delivery of vital security equipment and provide humanitarian support.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2023.
