Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a slate of new supports for Haiti in the Bahamas on Thursday including humanitarian aid and some naval vessels to help with surveillance.

But he stopped short of proposing the kind of military force its de facto prime minister is asking for, as experts urge him to put the brakes on growing discussions of foreign intervention.

Trudeau told a meeting of 20 Caribbean Community leaders that Canada will provide $12.3 million in new humanitarian assistance for the crisis-torn country and $10 million for the International Office on Migration to support migrants in the region.

害羞草研究所淥ur fundamental objective is to ease the suffering and empower Haitians to chart their own future,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淲e need to continue to work and put the Haitian people at the centre of everything we do.害羞草研究所�

Trudeau also promised to send Royal Canadian Navy vessels to the Haitian coast, following surveillance flyovers earlier this year and an existing plan to send more armoured vehicles.

Ottawa will redeploy HMCS Glace Bay and Moncton from West Africa, along with their 90 sailors, the Defence Department said. They will conduct 害羞草研究所減resence patrols害羞草研究所� focused on the waters around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Canada is also sanctioning two more Haitians, ex-interim president Jocelerme Privert and former political aide Salim Succar. They were added to a list of 15 elites already barred from economic dealings in Canada because of alleged ties to the gangs that have taken over Haiti. Trudeau said he is pushing allies to step up and do the same.

Trudeau said he had a 害羞草研究所渃onstructive害羞草研究所� conversation with de facto Haitian leader Ariel Henry this morning, who is acting as the country害羞草研究所檚 prime minister but was not elected to the role. National security adviser Jody Thomas was in the room and taking notes, as were Bob Rae, Canada害羞草研究所檚 ambassador to the UN, and S茅bastien Carri猫re, its ambassador to Haiti.

Henry took power after the 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Mo茂se.

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During brief remarks open to media, he insisted to Trudeau, speaking in French, that he urgently wants the country to work toward transparent elections despite the deteriorating security situation.

Gang activity has ground Haiti害羞草研究所檚 economy to a halt and hastened a resurgence of cholera. A United Nations report last week detailed 害羞草研究所渋ndiscriminate shootings, executions and rapes.害羞草研究所� Police have failed to contain the widespread violence.

Henry wants an external security force to quell the chaos, and the United States and United Nations have signalled their support for one, with Washington suggesting Canada could play a leading role.

Some Caribbean countries, including Jamaica and the Bahamas, set the stage for the Nassau meetings by publicly committing to contribute to a force if one is established.

But the people of Haiti themselves have not asked for such a thing, said Jean Saint-Vil, a Haitian McGill University researcher. They suspect it would inherently be an 害羞草研究所渋mperialist害羞草研究所� intervention, he said.

害羞草研究所淚t consists of an illegal request, because the person who made that request himself is an illegal entity,害羞草研究所� Saint-Vil told The Canadian Press in a French interview, noting that Henry stands accused of involvement in his predecessor害羞草研究所檚 assassination 害羞草研究所� a charge he has denied.

害羞草研究所淭he Haitian state has been taken hostage.害羞草研究所�

Mario Joseph, the managing attorney of the Bureau des avocats internationaux based in Port-au-Prince, said in a November letter to the Caribbean Community that an international intervention would 害羞草研究所減rop up the unconstitutional, corrupt and repressive de facto government and stifle legitimate dissent.害羞草研究所�

Joseph said that the last major UN stabilization mission in Haiti, which ran from 2004 until 2017, 害羞草研究所渟et the stage for today害羞草研究所檚 spectacular rebound of gang violence害羞草研究所� and left Haiti less democratic than when it arrived.

害羞草研究所淲e do not want our (Caribbean Community) sisters and brothers to come with guns to help powerful countries impose a repressive regime on us.害羞草研究所�

The International Crisis Group organization argued in a recent report that the collapse of the Haitian state and the severity of the humanitarian emergency increasingly justifies preparations for a mission.

害羞草研究所淏ut its deployment should hinge on adequate planning to operate in urban areas and support from Haiti害羞草研究所檚 main political forces, including their firm commitment to work together in creating a legitimate transitional government,害羞草研究所� the December report said.

Rae told reporters in Nassau Wednesday evening that a solution has to come from within Haitian society and be executed by Haitian police, though Canada has a role to play, including by supporting police and pushing to stem the flow of illegal arms into the country. Trudeau announced Canada will spend $1.8 million to 害羞草研究所渟trengthen border and maritime security害羞草研究所� in the region.

害羞草研究所淲e have to come to grips a bit with the history of large military interventions, where basically you害羞草研究所檙e just pushing aside all of the Haitian institutions and saying, 害羞草研究所榃e害羞草研究所檒l do this,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 Rae said.

Rae and Carri猫re said the current regime must play ball on the opposition害羞草研究所檚 demands for a truly fair election. 害羞草研究所淎 broader political consensus would greatly help restore people害羞草研究所檚 confidence in their institutions, including (the police),害羞草研究所� Carri猫re said.

A foreign intervention remains 害羞草研究所渉ighly unpopular害羞草研究所� in Haiti, said Brian Concannon, executive director and co-founder of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti.

害羞草研究所淭he troops who go down there are going to be fighting the people that they were sent to protect. And neither the Canadian nor American governments want that on the news, that their mostly white soldiers are shooting at Haitian civilians,害羞草研究所� said the former UN official and human rights lawyer.

害羞草研究所淪o they害羞草研究所檙e trying to get somebody else to be the face of that mission.害羞草研究所�

The public largely sees the unelected government as responsible for the disarray, Concannon said. Though he conceded that it makes sense to liaise with current officials on humanitarian aid, he said it害羞草研究所檚 time for the international community to stop inviting Haiti害羞草研究所檚 leadership to the table on a security solution.

During his visit to the Bahamas, Trudeau also met one-on-one with its prime minister and the leaders of Barbados and Jamaica. They discussed issues beyond Haiti, including climate change. Trudeau promised to spend another $44.8 million to respond to the Caribbean害羞草研究所檚 climate crisis.

Marie-Danielle Smith, The Canadian Press

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