This Friday, November 12, 10 months after the earthquake, two of the oldest francophone bars unite in an unprecedented agreement. The President of the Bar of Montreal, Me. Marc Charbonneau and his counterpart of the Bar of Port-au-Prince, Me. Gervais Charles, will sign today a cooperation agreement that will allow lawyers to Montreal to support their colleagues in Haiti.

In Montreal, where we find the largest community of Francophone jurists of the Haitian diaspora outside of Haiti, the lawyers have spontaneously responded to the call. Soon, they sat down and rolled up their sleeves. They work for several months to find the best way to effectively meet the needs of their colleagues in Port-au-Prince.

The twinning agreement is the cornerstone of their efforts, because the joint committee, that the two bars undertake to establish, ensure that the efforts of lawyers here will be useful to lawyers there. This linkage will enable a fruitful exchange between members of two bars which certainly will lead to mutual enrichment of knowledge.

The President of the Bar of Montréal is proud to sign this agreement in which Haitian advocates, with the support of the Bar of Montreal, will resume their practice and reach out to their fellow citizens.

HL/ HaitiLibre