The scale of the destruction in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, Thursday January 14, 2010

In the wake of the devastating earthquake that has decimated much of the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, the Canadian government was among the first in the international community to offer immediate assistance and aid.

On January 13, the day after the destructive quake struck, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Minister of National Defence Peter McKay outlined Canada’s response to the massive humanitarian crisis that was unfolding by the hour in the beleaguered country.

These initiatives include:

- $5 million for urgent humanitarian assistance

- a federal government pledge to match individual Canadian’s donations to eligible charities by up to $50 million; allocation of these funds will be conducted by the Canadian International Development Agency through established development and humanitarian agencies in Haiti.

- the Canadian Armed Forces dispatched a C130 Hercules transport with food and water supplies and communications equipment as well as the Interdepartmental Strategic Support Team and the Reconnaissance element of the Canadian Forces and the Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART), comprised of 19 members, some with medical training and approximately 100 Canadian forces personnel.

- a C-17 heavy-lift transport carrying a Griffon search and rescue helicopter and basic medical supplies, search and rescue and medical personnel, security equipment and engineers

- Royal Canadian Navy ships HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Halifax have departed for Haiti and are expected to arrive within a few days.

Both Cannon and McKay have held numerous briefings to update the status of the Canadian relief effort and to relay the still fragmented information coming out of Haiti as to the increasingly perilous situation on the ground.

National Defence Minister Peter McKay and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon announce Canada’s Haitian Relief efforts, Wednesday January 13, 2010

The International Red Cross estimates that some 45,000 to 50,000 people may have perished in the initial aftermath of the earthquake, with many more still trapped beneath mounds of rubble and debris, which indicates that these numbers are almost certain to rise as Haiti continues the hugely challenging and daunting task of digging out from among the nation-wide ruins.

The scale of the devastation and the already fragile infrastructure of the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere has prompted a global response from leaders all over the world, offering whatever assistance they can in response to the televised images of the calamity.

The global humanitarian effort includes contributions from the United States, Brazil, Russia, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, China, Israel, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and scores of others.

Many national leaders, chief among them U.S. President Barack Obama, made solemn statements during media appearances in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake to reassure the Haitian people that their plight would not be ignored.

Which only makes the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpers’ conspicuous absence this past week that much more blatant and shameful.

While it’s true that the Canadian government has responded with the swiftness and diligence the world has come to expect from a nation long revered for its compassion and humanitarian ideals, the leader of the country has been rarely seen or heard, apart from a briefing held with senior cabinet members that included Haitian born Governor General Michaelle Jean, in Ottawa on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.

Politically, Mr. Harper has strictly followed the old adage of ‘Deeds, not works shall speak me,’ never more evident than during his penchant for suspending Parliament with the little used but now infamous action of prorogue, which he has managed to employ 3 times in his short tenure as Prime Minister.

As Canada’s leader, he will surely receive the bulk of the credit for coordinating the nation’s Haitian relief efforts, and rightfully so.

Nevertheless, as of January 15, 2010, three days since news of Haiti’s devastation reached the outside world, Mr. Harper has yet to make another announcement regarding his government’s response, issuing no statements, holding no additional media briefings or press conferences to answer the innumerable questions regarding Canada’s humanitarian effort.

Mr. McKay and Mr. Cannon have clearly been sent forth as Mr. Harper’s chosen media representatives in the wake of the crisis, presumably because the Prime Minister is busying himself with the minute by minute operations that would normally have been hampered by the nagging business of his daily attendance in Parliament.

How fortunate for him in that case, that such trivialities as answering opposition inquiries during question period or the boorish insignificance of daily press briefings have been presciently brushed aside in order to free up the Prime Minister’s itinerary to deal exclusively with the Haitian disaster.

It would seem he is so inundated with the minutiae of organizing Canada’s response, there has been no time for the P.M. to face the nation or its hordes of hostile media representatives, who may well dare stray off the topic of Haiti and press Mr. Harper on other matters, which he has already made clear he is not prepared to engage in until March.

Mr. Harper’s supporters are praising him for the speed and efficacy of Canada’s response to the Haitian disaster, and well they should; it has been both timely and attentive.

However, it is not without some irony that his decision to prorogue Parliament last month seems to have rendered the Prime Minister disturbingly reluctant to face the media and outline his government’s efforts to aid the Haitian people, fearing it seems that he may well have to answer to many more issues than the immediacy of Haiti’s earthquake relief.

Deeds indeed, Mr. Harper, shall speak thee.

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