U.S. President Barack Obama has thanked Canada for its relief efforts in Haiti, and agreed to work with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in providing long-term help for the battered and poverty-stricken country.
The two leaders spoke on the phone Friday and discussed the importance of short- and long-term efforts to rebuild Haiti, and provide relief to the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants left struggling after the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Earlier in the day, Harper had said the true challenge in helping the shattered nation will be in maintaining aid over the long term.
Canada has already sent 1,000 military personnel and Canadians have donated millions personally, but Harper said that sustained effort is what is truly needed.
Underscoring the enormity of the task, Harper said that helping the impoverished nation amounts to "the rescue of a shattered society."
Back in 2006, Haiti became the second-largest recipient of Canadian aid when Ottawa promised $555 million over a five-year period. Afghanistan is the largest recipient.
Since the quake struck, Ottawa has pledged up to $135 million in additional funding, plus another $40 million, which has been donated by private individuals.
Still, Harper said that Canada will continue to "help them find their way to hope,"
About 200,000 people have died since the 7.3-magnitude quake hit the nation, shattering buildings, buckling roadways and leaving millions homeless.
In addition to the humanitarian mission, Canada has eased immigration restrictions on Haitian nationals.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has also promised to speed adoptions from the country into Canada.
It is expected that 86 Haitian children who were in line to be adopted before the quake could arrive in Canada by Saturday.
Kenney said that those cases were at an "advanced stage of administration," while others need to be green-lighted by provincial adoption agencies.
"We are in constant contact with the provinces -- most recently this morning -- encouraging them to do whatever they can to certify the applications for adoption by the parents so that we can bring those children to Canada," he said.
Adoptions from Haiti can normally take around two years.
Medical relief effort
The Task Force commander of two Canadian warships deployed to Haiti says with humanitarian aid slow to trickle into the devastated nation, his team is focusing on providing medical aid to those most desperate.
There are more than a dozen clinics and makeshift emergency field hospitals working in the capital of Port-au-Prince, but the demand is overwhelming.
There have been reports that some patients with serious injuries are still waiting for treatment 10 days after the quake hit, while survivors with minor wounds are now dealing with infections.
Many of the hospitals in the Haitian capital and elsewhere have either collapsed or are filled to capacity.
Naval Task Force Cdmr. Art McDonald says with the needs still high, Canada remains focused on providing medical assistance.
"That's what we've assessed is the most immediate need," he told Canada AM Friday from aboard HMCS Athabaskan, anchored off the coast of Leogane.
"The need here is pretty significant given that aid assistance hasn't flowed in as rapidly to this region. That's why Joint Forces commanders decided to establish a CF field hospital in that area, something that we will be helping to set up over the weekend."
The military facility he refers to, dubbed 1 Field Hospital, will depart from Petawawa, Ont., Saturday to Leogane, which is near the epicentre of the Jan. 12 quake.
Up to 90 per cent of Leogane was destroyed in the initial quake, and more buildings fell when a 5.9-magnitue aftershock struck on Wednesday. About 200,000 Haitians live in the surrounding area.
The field hospital's team will include 100 doctors, surgeons, and nurses who will augment the medical care that Canadian Forces have already been trying to provide.
The hospital includes an operating room with two surgical teams, two resuscitation beds, two critical-care beds and 50 immediate- and minimum-care beds. It will be powered by its own generators, and will have laboratory and diagnostic-imaging capabilities.
Gen. Guy LaRoche, who is in charge of the Canadian military's relief efforts, says he hopes the hospital can start treating people within five days.
On the south coast, HMCS Halifax is stationed off Jacmel, about 40 kilometres south of Port-au-Prince. A 16-member military medical team is already there, working as part of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).
There are currently 950 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air crew on the ground or off the coast of Haiti. That figure is set to more than double within two weeks.
With files from The Canadian Press
