Ottawa has announced $7 million in humanitarian relief for Caribbean states hit by Hurricane Melissa — and the government says it might deploy soldiers if asked.
“Canada stands with the people of the Caribbean in its efforts at this moment, not with words but with action,” Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, told reporters Thursday on Parliament Hill.
“And we’ll be here tomorrow to help rebuild stronger, safer and more resilient communities.”
Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday. The Category 5 storm has since killed dozens of people in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti while damaging infrastructure and causing widespread power outages.
Global Affairs Canada wrote Thursday afternoon that it was “not aware of any Canadian citizens who have been injured or killed as a result of this hurricane,” while Sarai said no Canadians had been reported missing as of that morning.
“Due to power outages in the region, establishing full communication with those on the ground may be challenging and take time,” the department wrote in a media update Thursday afternoon.
The department said its Havana embassy had not received requests for help from Canadians in Cuba, while the high commission in Jamaica is “inaccessible” but operating remotely.
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Two members of the department’s rapid deployment team arrived Thursday in Kingston, and three more are set to arrive Friday, to provide emergency consular services and logistical support to Canadian diplomats.
The department noted Kingston’s main airport has reopened for commercial flights.
Sarai said $5 million of the new funding will go to life-saving help through emergency response agencies and health providers, adding that Global Affairs Canada is still identifying the receiving countries and organizations.
The other $2 million will go to the World Food Programme to support its efforts to distribute food and other supplies to Jamaica.
Sarai said Canada is prepared to deploy relief supplies from its emergency stockpile through the Red Cross, if countries request that help.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand added Canada might send military help if it’s requested.
“At this moment, the request from Jamaica has been for humanitarian aid. That is what we are stepping up to provide. There has been no request for the Canadian Armed Forces at this time,” she told reporters.
“We of course are standing ready 24-7 to assist in ways that are requested.”
She said Canada’s priority is to ensure aid is distributed “as rapidly as possible but also in a way that is reliable.”
Ottawa has funded programs meant to help countries like Jamaica cope with natural disasters through emergency planning and logistics.
Canada is also part of a multi-year effort aimed at reforming global financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, so that Caribbean countries can pay for climate-resilient infrastructure.
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