The unelected Ariel Henry has agreed to demands to step down as violence and looting plague the country.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has tendered his resignation and appealed for calm as the country descends into chaos.
The 74-year-old announced he would step aside late on Monday following an emergency meeting of regional nations. Haiti has been plagued by spiralling violence in recent weeks as armed gangs have taken control, calling for Henry to go.
Following the meeting in Jamaica, where Caribbean states called for a swift transition, Henry – who has led Haiti unelected since the 2021 assassination of its last president – spoke in a video address.
“The government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council,” Henry said. “I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible.”
The erstwhile Haitian leader is currently stranded in the United States territory of Puerto Rico after being prevented by the threat from the gangs from returning home. A senior US official said he was free to remain there or travel elsewhere, though security in Haiti would need to improve for him to feel comfortable returning home.
The alliance of gangs, led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, went on the rampage when Henry left the country in late February, seeking to rally support for a Kenya-led foreign police intervention that his government had argued was necessary to restore order so elections could be held.
They had warned of civil war and genocide if Henry, who became prime minister after President Jovenel Moise’s assassination in 2021, did not step down.
Haiti has meanwhile descended into chaos, with widespread violence, looting of basic infrastructure and fears of a famine.
Regional leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) had held the emergency summit to discuss a framework for a political transition, which the US had urged to be “expedited” as armed gangs wreaked chaos amid repeatedly postponed elections.
Henry, viewed as corrupt by many in Haiti, was not at the summit, which took place behind closed doors. The Associated Press news agency said a spokesperson for Henry’s office did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Gangs went on the rampage in Port-au-Prince last week amid wider frustration at Henry’s refusal to leave office as agreed [Odelyn Joseph/AP]
The prime minister was supposed to step down in February. He has been effectively locked out of the country since the unrest spiralled, landing in Puerto Rico last week after being denied entry to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s president and the current chair of CARICOM, said the emergency talks were seeking to bring “stability and normalcy” to Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also at the summit and promised an additional $100m for a United Nations-backed force to stabilise the country as well as $30m in humanitarian assistance.
Blinken said the meeting was “critical” for Haiti and the region.
The US backed “a proposal developed in partnership with CARICOM and Haitian stakeholders to expedite a political transition through a creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college”, the US State Department said in a statement.
The body would be comprised of two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from a number of coalitions, the private sector, civil society and one religious leader.
It would be tasked with meeting the “immediate needs” of Haitian people, enabling the security mission’s deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections, Blinken said.
A US official in Puerto Rico said Henry had confirmed his resignation in a call with Blinken.
The breakthrough came after a meeting of regional leaders of the Caribbean Community in Jamaica [Gilbert Bellamy/Reuters]
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
