Haiti Get Well Soon

I would like to extend my best wishes to every man, woman, and child on the ground in Haiti. I do not know enough about the logistics of this aid operation to recommend a best course of action, but having just watched an interview with Lawrence Cannon, I feel confident that the Canadian Government and international community are doing an exemplary job responding to the crisis thus far. Clearly saving lives is the overriding priority at this stage, and the best way to do that is with boots on the ground, a fleet of Caterpillars, food, water and eventually shelter. Regrettably given the political instability, the best way to deliver it to the most vulnerable is with troops with guns in their cities. Such is the case when you have marauding gangs wielding machetes roaming the streets. I know Liberals will shudder at the thought of Canadian troops in cities, but how many reserve forces do we have at our disposal right now? How many troops are required to pacify and relieve Port Au Prince? How many personnel are being offered from other countries? I don't know enough about the chess pieces to recommend an optimal course of action. From all indications the Canadian Government's response has been extraordinary.

There is a significant military presence around Vancouver test driving worst case scenarios, and I am assuming if we are required to divert a meaningful number of active duty personnel not already on deployment, we are going to be diverting them away from the Olympics. It is the moral choice to divert resources away from a possible disaster that may not happen to assist in a disaster that we know has happened. Canada is on Al Qaeda's "Hit List" because our boys and girls are killing them in Afghanistan, and we have been planning this little party in Vancouver for a few years now.

Let's do everything we can to help those Haitians in need, and be on the lookout for those cretins who exploit situations of public generosity for fraudulent personal gain. I'm not an expert in phony charities or the best way to track them down and shut them down, I just know that there are people out there shameless enough to do it. The sort of deplorable deed that makes you sit back and say to yourself; "I sure hope Hell exists." If you observe any suspicious profiteering, I would suggest reporting it to the RCMP for vetting.

I have also read some suggestions that Haiti be adopted as a defacto Province of Canada, and while I support a friendly relationship there is also a significant negative liability of extending the protection of our constitution over this politically unstable nation. I vote for a closer economic relationship, that our markets can remain open to whatever they make there and encourage investment in manufacturing infrastructure. Let's do our best to help them out when tragedy strikes and let's increase the number of refugees we will accept.