Haiti Earthquake Disaster

First of all, I apologize for not posting this sooner, but I have been very busy with school. I know that is a terrible excuse, but it is what it is, and I sincerely apologize. By now all of you have probably heard about the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday. The earthquake was charted at a magnitude of 7.2 while some of the aftershocks were charted in the 5-6 range.

A phenomenon like this always puts things in perspective for people when sometimes we forget. Our daily little troubles, like choosing what we want to eat for dinner, are so minuscule they don't even compare to the troubles that an entire nation is going through right now.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was very quick to get aid to Haiti as soon as he heard what had happened. Military and medical supplies were shipping out and hefty dollar donations were flooding in Thursday as Canadians responded fast and furiously.

The federal government announced a program to match donations dollar-for-dollar from Canadians to build an emergency fund of up to $100 million toward humanitarian efforts in the earthquake zone.

After dropping his own donation at the Red Cross office in Ottawa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, hinted the government will soon relax immigration rules to help reunite Haitian families in Canada. “The minister of immigration has been discussing these matters with us and we will have announcements in the not-too distant future,” he said, noting the situation is “complicated.”

Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis accused the government of acting to score points in the Montreal area which has a large Haitian community (which is a shameful thing to say). He said permanent protocols should be put in place so they can kick in fast when disasters occur around the world.

Also, the first group of Canadians caught in Haiti's earthquake arrived in Montreal early Friday morning. The nearly 100 evacuees were brought home on the same military aircraft that carried Canadian soldiers into the disaster zone Thursday. A second plane carrying more evacuees followed closely behind. However, it is being reported that 4 Canadians were killed in the earthquake while 4 others are still missing.

The B.C. government is contributing $500,000 to the Red Cross to support victims of Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti. I have already donated $150 to the Red Cross, I would have spent that money buying a new pair of shoes but that didn't seem right. So I urge you all to do the same, every donation counts even if it's just $15. You can donate to the Red Cross by clicking this link: Donate Now.

May our thoughts and prayers be with those in Haiti.

Peace and Much Love To Ya