Amid violence in Haiti, Canadian government delays deportations

The Canadian government has temporarily halted deportations to Haiti as violent protests continue to grip Port-au-Prince, the country's capital.

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said the decision was made Friday, but did not indicate how long the moratorium may last.People who are under removal orders could include those accused of crimes or those who are in Canada illegally.

A number of Canadians are also stranded in Haiti, unable to get out safely.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the situation during a morning event in Ottawa.

"Many Canadians have family members and friends in Haiti that they are, of course, worried about, and our hearts go out to them and we are offering our support," he said.

Trudeau said Global Affairs Canada and the country's diplomatic corps are working to keep Canadians who are trying to return home from Haiti informed.

But KatherineO'Neil, a registered nurse from Montreal, said she has received very little information from the government, especially now that the embassy has been closed for days.

She left the city Feb. 6 for what was supposed to be a weekvolunteering in a clinic in PetitParadis, a town south of Port-au-Prince.

"We didn't receive anemail, a phone call, a text message, nothing. What we would have appreciated was for them to reach out and say we're closing, this is your contact person, they will be in touch with you, they will let you know how to proceed. But we didn't receive that."

And while she can communicate with family members now, she is worried that cellphone andinternetservice will eventually go down.

"We won't know when it's safe to proceed to the airport. We won't be able to get messages to our families that we're safe. And for me, that's scary."

Over the pasteight days, at least seven people have died as Haitians protest againsthigh unemployment rates and skyrocketing inflation.

They are demanding President Jovenel Mose step down, which he has refused to do.

When asked whether Canada would continue to support Mose's presidency, Trudeau would only say that Canada will"continue to provide assistance to the people of Haiti."

Still stranded

Protesters are blocking roads in and around Port-au-Prince, making it dangerous and, in some cases, impossible for some Canadians to get to the airport, which is in thecapital.

Groups from New Brunswick, Alberta and Quebec say they are stranded across the country and waiting for the OK to travel toward Port-au-Prince.

A group of 26 high schoolers and four adult chaperones fromVictoriaville, Que.,have been in Haiti since last week. They were there on a humanitarian mission and are scheduled to return Feb. 20, according to Radio-Canada.

Quebec Premier FranoisLegault said Friday that Air Transat is working with local authorities, the Canadian embassy in Haiti and the Canadian governmentto charter three helicopters to transport 113 vacationers from a resort northwest of Port-au-Prince to the airport, then fly them to Montreal.

O'Neil and her colleaguesa nurse from Nova Scotia and six from Ontarioare scheduled to returnto Canada Monday aboard an Air Canada flight, but she is not sure whetherthat will happen.

Manned barricades are preventing her groupfrom getting to the airport.

She said she heard another group staying nearby tried to travel to the airport, ran into barricade and had the windows of their vehicle smashed.

"There's been unrest in Haiti forever, so that did not come as a surprise, but the escalation of the violence, the escalation of the unrest, is something that we didn't expect."

On Thursday, the Global Affairs Canadawebsite warned against non-essential travel, but thenotice was updated Friday morning, warning the "security situation could further deteriorate quickly" and people should "consider leaving by commercial means while they are available."

This isn't the first time such delays have been put in place in November,CBSAstopped removals to Haitidue to protests over fuel price hikes in Port-au-Prince.