Time to help Haiti....

Now is the time to put aside political differences and help the Haitian people...

* Canadians concerned about relatives in the country can call the emergency operations centre in Ottawa at 1-800-387-3124, (613) 943-1055, or by email: sos@international.gc.ca.
* Canadians in Haiti can contact embassy officials in Port-au-Prince by calling the Department of Foreign Affairs' Emergency Operations Centre collect at (613) 996-8885.

Canada has long been involved in helping Haiti...here is a list of what we have been doing...

Haiti is the second-largest recipient of Canadian development aid, and the two nations have a warm relationship.

In fact, late last year Cannon participated in a round of talks with Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, focused on strengthening security institutions in Haiti.

Following is a list of current projects Ottawa is involved with in Haiti, part of a promised $555 million to be delivered between 2006 and 2011.

* $3.7 million for the reinforcement of the Haitian National Police's marine unit to purchase five boats.
* $701,287 for the construction of a slipway and workshops at the Port-au-Prince naval base.
* $3.6 million for "capacity building in migration management"
* $4.4 million to construct the Croix-des-Bouquets detention centre

Following is a list of Canadian projects in Haiti that was released in February 2008

* $75 million for the construction and rehabilitation of the road between the cities of Jermie and Les Cayes
* $19 million to improve reproductive health
* $13.8 million for technical assistance to the Haitian State Project
* $10 million to support school feeding programs
* $5.4 million to help with tuition fees
* $1.2 million for the Education for All program
* $700,000 for disaster preparedness in Haiti

How to help now? I think the best donation is time and money. You can start with the Canadian Red Cross....