January 5, 2013
By Jeff Parkinson
Anti-civil rights crusader & hero of absolutely no one Julian Fantino is at it again but this time it’s not the sleepy little Southern Ontario town of Caledonia in his sights, it’s the poorest nation in the Americas, Haiti.
Under his new banner of “International Co-operation Minister” for the Harper Government, Fantino is freezing new aid projects for the impoverished nation citing among other problems “corruption”.
Yes folks Julian Fantino is accusing someone else of being corrupt. Please take as much time as you need to stop laughing & then we’ll continue.
When Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2010 Canada was there to help providing $250 Million in aid in 2010/2011, but that was before Fantino managed to stick his fingers in the pot.
Frantz Liautaud, Haiti’s Ambassador to Canada learned of this news via the media. Mr. Fantino didn’t have the stones to deliver the news first hand. He did it in a newspaper interview.
With Canada currently funding dozens of aid projects in Haiti including providing money to ensure children will be able to have lunch at school, & its $31-Million donation to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund, it obviously comes as a surprise to Haitian officials that Fantino wants to curb new aid, but for those who have watched him enforce race based policing in Caledonia with an iron fist it should come as no surprise.
Since taking over the portfolio in July, Mr. Fantino has not approved any new aid projects for Haiti, Mr. Liautaud said. But Mr. Liautaud thought that was part of a general slowdown for new aid to all countries since Mr. Fantino arrived in the job. This statement speaks volumes about Julian, but it gets worse.
According to Mr. Liautaud, Fantino visited Haiti & met with President Michel Martelly in November of 2012 & told the President “I will help you“. Two Months later Mr. Fantino told French newspaper La Presse “Are we going to take care of their problems forever? They also have to take charge of themselves,”
Canada funded many projects in Haiti long before Fantino came along & one must wonder at what point Julian will pull the plug on any of them. Here are a few examples from the Canadian International Development Agency:
1. Sustaining School Feeding in Haiti
Amount: $15-million
Period: 2012
Agency: World Food Programme
Goal: Helps provide one hot meal per day to primary school students.
2. Enabling Neighbourhood Revival
Amount: $1.3-million
Period: 2011-2012
Agency: Habitat for Humanity Canada
Goal: Repair and retrofit close to 700 homes in Simon Pelé, a low-income, high-density area of Port-au-Prince.
3. Reinforcing Food Security in Haiti
Amount: $2.1-million
Period: 2011-2013
Agency: Development and Peace
Goal: Improving land use for up to 20,000 rural families, including watershed management and increasing agricultural production by providing farm families with quality seeds and farming techniques.
4. Haiti Reconstruction Fund
Amount: $31.5-million
Period: 2010-2013
Agency: World Bank
Goal: Canada’s contribution to the main international reconstruction fund set up after the 2010 earthquake. Finances an array of activities including infrastructure building, basic services, and environmental clean-up.
5. Health Services for Women and Girls
Amount: $5-million
Period: 2012-2015
Agency: United Nations Office for Project Services
Goal: Supports construction of Haiti’s National School of Midwifery and of maternity clinics, as well of training of midwives and other health workers.
To view more of the dozens of aid projects Canada funded pre-Fantino, click here.
Only time will tell how this ends, but it certainly appears that Fantino continues to be the man politicians call on when they want something questionable done by someone who won’t ask any questions.
It would be interesting if some of the countless thousands of Haitian-Canadians in our Country started protesting at Mr. Fantino’s home, but where might they find his address?… Hmmm.
On an unrelated note, be sure to check out our own Mark Vandermaas on the Michael Coren show discussing the supposed hunger strike of Theresa Spence.
JeffParkinson.ca 