Get on with elections, Canada urges Haiti, still struggling from 2010 earthquake

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on August 21 2010 (arindambanerjee / Shutterstock)

OTTAWA — Canada is urging the Haitian government to call elections quickly as the Caribbean nation teeters yet again on the brink of collapse.

But while Haiti tries to resolve a mounting political crisis, Canadian officials say aid money will continue to flow to help rebuild a nation that continues to struggle since being devastated by a deadly earthquake five years ago.

Canada has been reviewing its aid commitment to Haiti for nearly a year and says problems persist with co-ordination of aid efforts, largely as a result of a lack of accountability and transparency on the part of the Haitian government.

Haitian Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume was named interim prime minister last month following several weeks of protests.

Her predecessor, Laurent Lamothe, resigned after a special commission issued a report urging his departure.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Much of its capital, Port au Prince, was levelled by a 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 people.

Since then, many Haitians have struggled to find the most basic of necessities, including food and clean drinking water.