Haïti :Lieu de Pèlerinage pour les Politiciens Canadiens

revelation Sam 10 Avr 2010 - 9:09

Former MP Serge Marcil alive but injured in Haiti, Jean Charest says

KEVIN DOUGHERTY, Montreal Gazette Quebec Bureau

QUEBEC - Premier Jean Charest said yesterday that family sources have told him Serge Marcil, who was a Quebec MNA and a federal MP, is alive but injured. Marcil was in Haiti on a business trip and has not been heard from since the magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck on Tuesday.

Charest said the information about Marcil has not been confirmed by the federal government, but he was told that Marcil was identified by a United Nations official and that he was being transferred to a Miami hospital.It is a great frustration to us," the premier said, adding that many in Quebec's Haitian community face the same uncertainty, and their frustration should be multiplied "a thousand fold."

Marcil's son Olivier is a political adviser on the premier's staff and his spouse, Christiane Pelchat, heads Quebec's Conseil du statu de la femme. Charest said two or six Quebec civil servants in Haiti as consultants remain missing. He added that 12 teams of police sniffer dogs and their masters, used in search and rescue efforts, are ready to go to Haiti.

There are 126 police officers set to go. The first medical team – two doctors, three nurses and two logistics persons – will join a Norwegian Red Cross hospital in Haiti.He said his government's priority is welcoming the estimated 4,800 Canadian citizens living in Haiti if they want to return and will see they receive medical care.

Quebec is focused on the rescue effort and is not considering accepting additional immigrants from Haiti at this time, he said.Quebec will provide financial aid, he added, but its effort would be modest compared with that of the federal government, which is a major aid contributor to the Caribbean country.kdougherty@thegazette.canwest.com

Haiti no political playground, Charest tells PQ leader

Canwest News Service

QUEBEC -- Quebec Premier Jean Charest said Friday he doesn't intend to travel to Haiti and fired back at Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois who is headed to the earthquake-ravaged country next week.

"Haiti is not a political playground for anyone," Mr. Charest told reporters when asked if he would follow Marois' initiative and go to the Caribbean country. "The disaster in Haiti is one that calls for generosity and effort on behalf of all of us to help the people of Haiti. It's not a political playground," he stressed.

The PQ said federal officials have offered their support to Marois. Similar trips abroad by separatist leader have often been a source of friction with the federal government over fears they would try to secure support for sovereignty.The Foreign Affairs Department didn't oppose Marois' visit but insisted she be accompanied by the Canadian ambassador to Haiti, Gilles Rivard, in her meetings. Marois is set to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told reporters in Ottawa Thursday he doesn't see any problem with Marois' visit, noting the province is home to a large Haitian diaspora. Quebec Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Arcand announced this week he will travel to Haiti at the end of the month. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/politics/story.html?id=2783317