Haiti crimes

CTV notes that the issue of Canada's involvement in Haiti has come up in Quebec - and for those who thought the Libs couldn't get any less principled, Pierre Pettigrew is willing to sink to new depths:

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew downplayed demands for a Canadian withdrawal from Haiti on Monday, labelling protesters outside his office as "a marginal group of Haitian Montrealers."

Saying the protesters were "fixated on the past and nostalgia," Pettigrew dashed any hopes of a Canadian pullout, expressing his belief that Canada is helping bring stability to the strife-torn Caribbean nation.

Or, to put it another way, in Pettigrew's view the concept of a democratic Haiti is mere nostalgia which should be forgotten. Instead, he'd like Canadians to embrace a vision featuring:

- massacres of civilians by Canadian-trained police;
- "get out of jail free" cards for the perpetrators of past massacres;
- detention of leading political figures based solely on politically motivated accusations;
- detention of journalists for shooting factual footage; and,
- a plan designed to impose unwanted and irreversible policies on the people of Haiti before the democratic process can get started again.

The article notes that the Bloc's candidate running against Pettigrew may not benefit much from the story, since the Bloc itself is on side with Canada's current course of action in Haiti. Instead, the NDP is also the only Canadian political party which cares enough to try to reverse some of the damage in Haiti.