CARICOM lists three major issues for talks with Canadian PM
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are hoping to raise three main issues during their summit with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa later this month, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said on Tuesday, 3 October.
Skerrit, who is also the Chair of CARICOM, told reporters that the October 17-19 meeting will be discussing issues related to climate change and Haiti.
Skerrit said that on the issue of climate change, the regional leaders will look towards Canada, a member of the G7 grouping “to do more in their response to the issue of climate change and the impact of it having on the countries in the Caribbean.”
Skerrit made reference to the weather situation over Dominica and the Leeward Islands in the past 24 hours where Tropical Storm Philippe caused widespread flooding and infrastructural damage.
“We are being impacted by this on an ongoing basis and we believe that Canada is in a good position to have a stronger voice and getting their other colleagues in the G7 to play a greater role and to live up to the commitments of capitalising this fund to assist countries like ours in building resilience against natural disasters.”
Skerrit said that the developed countries have been speaking about establishing a US$100 billion fund to assist developing countries to deal with the impact of climate change, but “the new estimate really is US$2.3 trillion developing countries would require if we are to seriously address and assist us in building resilience against the impact of climate change.”
The CARICOM Chairman said that regional countries are going to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 “to get some commitments from the Canada-CARICOM summit.”
He said another issue to be discussed at the summit has to do with the international financial architecture, noting that CARICOM countries have already adopted the Barbados-led Bridgetown Initiative aimed at reforming the way rich countries finance poor countries in a climate crisis.
“We are in full support of what has been presented in the Bridgetown Initiative calling for a change in the way that financing is made available to developing countries. Canada sits on the G7 and really for there to be changes in the international financial institutions the G7 must be part of this.
“And so we want to get more political will from countries like Canada and having clear timelines to have these things effected because we cannot wait until eternity for these things to come,” Skerrit said.
As regards Haiti, Prime Minister Skerrit said while the United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution with regards to sending an international multi-national force to the CARICOM country to help restore peace and security “certainly Haiti needs more than that.”
“Haiti is going to need a comprehensive set of measures to help it stablise the situation, bring law and order back into Haiti, but also going forward an economic plan that is well financed by the international community.”
Skerrit said that even if the security situation is addressed in Port-au-Prince, including hold elections, “you have a humanitarian crisis.”
“You have little or no access to education, health care, public institutions etc. Haiti is going to need a complete overhaul and a Marshall plan to help it get out of the situation once and for all.”
“So it is just not going and sending some people in there …The UN Security Council resolution in my view needs to now build upon itself and to look at every clause in the resolution and to determine what specific actions need to be taken to effect those clauses in the resolution.”
Skerrit told reporters he believes that this is very important to do.
“My view is that we need to get the United Nations, you need to get the IMF, the World Bank, development partners, the Haitian people, CARICOM to come together to assist the Haitian people with galvanizing that support.
“Haiti needs us now more than ever and we understand the precarious situation of the gangs. But Haiti is not the only country with gangs and so there are strategies we believe can be employed to really treat with the gangs..and to bring law and order to Haiti and ensure that the Haitian people can go about their daily lives like the rest of us in the world,” Skerrit told reporters.
Source: CARICOM TODAY