Text of Mr. Ignatieff’s Message of January 14 entitled “In Haiti’s time of need”:
Friend—
It’s time to stand with Haiti.
The scenes of devastation beamed from Port-au-Prince and elsewhere have shaken all of us. But they have also reminded us that our first instinct as Canadians is to ask “How can I help?”
Our ties with Haiti are strong. We have a Haitian community in Canada that has contributed so much to our national life, and Canadians across our country are connected to Haiti through friends and loved ones living and working there.
I know that you were just asked to donate on Monday. But this is not about politics.
In these exceptional circumstances, now is a time to come together as people. Now is a time to act.
That’s why I am asking you to please support the relief effort in Haiti by clicking on one of the links below. Yesterday, we asked the government to match funds given to charitable organizations for relief efforts and today the government announced that it would - which means that your giving power is now twice as strong.
Canadian Red Cross
Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam Quebec
Centre for International studies and Cooperation (CECI)
CARE Canada
The Humanitarian Coalition
Let’s show that we care. Let’s help Haiti in this time of need.
Thank you,
Michael Ignatieff
We were asked to donate Monday for an earth quake that happened at 4:53 pm Tuesday ?
What is needed right now, is clean water, food and shelter. A donation of building materials(lumber and tarps) could be loaded onto container ships in Miami or some other port on the east coast and arrive in Haiti within days. The able bodied could then construct temporary shelters for the 100s of thousands that are currently homeless. Having them centrally located would make the distribution of aid, such as water, food and medical treatment more efficient. It would also make it easier to police and provide security.