Prime Minister attends U.N. Peacekeeping Medal Ceremony in Haiti

OTTAWA — July 20, 2007 — Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Haiti today to attend the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Medal ceremony. The medals were given out to Canadian police officers contributing to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The ceremony was hosted by Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, Claude Boucher, at the Canadian Embassy. Medals were presented by the Secretary General’s Special Representative to MINUSTAH. Also in attendance were officials from the RCMP, Sûreté du Québec, Durham Regional Police and the Service de Police de la Ville de St-Jérôme.

Seventeen Canadian police officers representing the RCMP, Sûreté du Québec, Service de Police de la Ville de St-Jérôme received medals, which symbolize the Canadian police contribution to MINUSTAH. Four other police officers received a number for their second or more mission in Haiti.

"Over the last four decades, thousands of Canadian police officers, members of our armed forces, aid workers and diplomats have been involved in humanitarian work and security-building in Haiti," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "They have performed above and beyond the call of duty, in extremely challenging circumstances, and they have done their fellow Canadians proud."

The first deployment of Canadian civilian police peacekeepers to MINUSTAH took place in July 2004. Since then, over 350 police from the RCMP as well as municipal and provincial police forces have been deployed.

The mandate of MINUSTAH is to assist the transitional Haitian government in establishing a secure and stable environment, restoring law and order, and reforming the Haitian National Police (HNP).

The RCMP, through the International Peace Operations Branch (IPOB), has been managing the deployment of Canadian police to peace operations since 1989. On behalf of the Government of Canada, the branch oversees the selection of candidates, provides pre-deployment training and ongoing medical, psychological and logistical support. To date, more than 2,200 Canadian police officers have served in as many as 25 missions around the world. In addition to Haiti, Canadian police are currently serving in Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Jordan, Timor-Leste, Ivory Coast and Kyrgyzstan.

The decision to deploy Canadian police is made within the framework of the Canadian Police Arrangement (CPA), a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Public Safety Canada, and the Canadian International Development Agency.

For more information on the International Peace Operations Branch, visit http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/peacekeeping/index_e.htm.

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