The Canadian government says it is going to provide more than $180 million over the next two years to boost reconstruction and development in Haiti.

Ottawa announced the donation on Sunday, but it will be formally made at a conference in Washington this week.

Haiti's transitional government has developed an assessment (the Interim Co-operation Framework, or ICF) of what it needs, which will be presented to a donor's conference.




Canada's donation is intended to address the needs outlined by the transitional government.

The Canadian contribution includes:

  • Nearly $147 million to support the ICF;
  • About $33 million for policing.
"Canada has been there in the past for Haiti and we will continue to be there in the years to come," Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham said in a statement.

The money will come from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Canada has 500 soldiers in Haiti as part of a UN stabilization force put in place after president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted on Feb. 29. Those soldiers are coming home at the end of August, but 100 police officers will be sent to maintain order and train Haitian police.

Since February, Canada has committed nearly $16 million to Haiti, mostly through international organizations like the United Nations and Organization of American States.

Assistance totalled nearly $24 million in 2002-2003.