Canada allocates another $400-million to Haiti

I just don't get it. How much more money does this country need from the West to sort itself out? So, Canada is to find another $400 million to give to the Haitian government. Why don't they rather stipulate that Haiti can get the money as long as Canadian people are in charge of where the money is spent and the rebuilding of the country? But no, they just give money away and NOTHING gets done to improve the lot of the people - the same people who don't even bother cleaning up the mess themselves - the people who sit around all day (like th picture below), having more babies and waiting for someone else to clean up for them - the same people who live with rubbish all around them... This is totally rediculous. The "I'm a Black victim" mentality has to stop as well as the White guilt of pouring money after a problem, and the only way is to let the Haitians sort themselves out. No more free money; no more feeling sorry for them; no more reacting to their crocodile tears. I, for one, am fed up with this constant hand outs we give to countries who refuse to help themselves.No wonder they don't take responsibility for their own lives. But, we the tax payer don't get a say in how our governments chose to throw our money away....And the UN has called for quick donations!!

Canada is allocating $400-million over two years for the recovery of Haiti as part of an international effort that is expected to designate some $4-billion to the country.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda made the commitment Wednesday during an international aid conference at the United Nations.

“Canada is committed to standing behind Haiti and the Haitian people,” Ms. Oda said. “Today’s pledge will more than double our historical annual support.”

Canada was already the world’s largest per capita donor to Haiti, allocating $2-million per week to the impoverished nation.

Canadians donated $220-million to Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake, and officials said $110-million of the money announced Wednesday fulfilled part of the government commitment to match dollar for dollar the private donations. The other half of the matching funds will be paid at a later date.

Following the quake, Canada also pledged $5-million in emergency aid, followed by $80-million in response to appeals from the United Nations, the Red Cross, and others.

The U.S. and European Union pledged a combined $2.75-billion in aid.

“What we envision today is wholesale national renewal, a sweeping exercise in nation-building on a scale and scope not seen in generations,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, opening the one-day conference of some 120 countries, international organizations and aid agencies.

Mr. Ban called for quick donations in response to a UN request for $1.4-billion in immediate humanitarian assistance. So far, the request has only been half funded, fueling fears that the rainy season will compound the disaster for some 1.2-million Haitians left homeless by the Jan. 12 quake.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, co-host of Wednesday’s meeting, said the United States would pledge $1.15-billion for long-term recovery, which she said must be planned and executed by Haiti’s government.

“We also have to pledge our best efforts to do better ourselves, to offer our support in a smarter way, a more effective way that produces real results for the people of Haiti,” Ms. Clinton said.

Ms. Clinton was joined on the dais by her husband, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, the UN special envoy for Haiti who will co-ordinate relief efforts for the country.

The UN meeting aims to fund a Haitian government recovery plan that includes decentralizing the economy to create jobs and wealth outside Port-au-Prince, the capital of some four-million people.

Haitian President Rene Preval said it was time to “dream of a new Haiti” and that the international response to the challenge could be a model for future disasters.

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