Notice – Update on adoptions from Haiti: January 25, 2010

January 25, 2010 — On January 24, the Government of Haiti gave its approval to a second list of 63 children. All the children were already in the adoption approval process before the earthquake. This brings the total number of children that the Haiti government has given its permission to bring to Canada to 217. Of those, 31 children are now in Canada.

Canadian Embassy staff in Haiti are working hard to find and identify all the children that have been cleared for adoption to Canada. These children are at orphanages located in various parts of the country, and the destruction caused by the earthquake is making it very difficult to get around the country. We are bringing children to Canada as we locate and identify them and inform their adoptive parents.

We are working to bring the next flight to Canada over the next few days. Additional flights will follow. Most flights will arrive in Ottawa, but there may be some exceptions.

Parents will be notified once the arrival of their child has been confirmed on a specific flight.

Statistics to date:

• 31 children from Haiti who were in the adoption process have been united with their families in Canada.
  • 24 children arrived in Ottawa on Sunday, January 24. The children range in age from 11 months to 14 years in age, and were accompanied by 15 Air Canada representatives, five CIC officials, and a medical team. The other seven children arrived through the United States having been evacuated on American evacuation flights.
• The Government of Haiti has given its permission for 217 children to come to Canada. These children were already in the adoption process when the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince.

237 children were adopted from Haiti by Canadians in 2008 and January-September of 2009.