Haiti - Reconstruction : Montreal first city in the world to intervene on the Haitian soil
As part of the Cooperation Programme of municipalities Haiti / Canada, Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, in the presence of the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, announced the participation of the City in order to support the City of Port-au-Prince in its reconstruction efforts. Montreal will be the first city in the world to intervene on the Haitian soil to leverage its expertise and help rebuild the municipal administration of the Haitian capital, "We are proud to introduce today the first phase of the participation of the City of Montreal for the reconstruction of the City of Port-au Prince. By helping to lay the milestones of a municipal government, we help Haitians in what we know best: running a city daily. Ultimately, this will allow Port-au-Prince to perform its responsibilities in priority areas such as housing, urban planning, infrastructure and economic development," said the mayor of Montreal.
The City of Montreal will provide support to the City of Port-au-Prince through a contribution in human resources. A total of 51 missions, lasting approximately one month will be made during this first phase of activities. In addition, a support office to the City Hall will be established in the capital to coordinate the training of municipal employees, buying equipment and implementation of construction projects and rehabilitation. Montreal's expertise will also be leveraging at the level of the planning and land management, training of officials and elected, the presence of men and women in public functions and elective and sustainable development. Note that the direct and indirect costs incurred by the City shall be borne by the Program of cooperation of municipalities Haiti / Canada.
Remember that this program is a pan-Canadian collective support to Haitian communities and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Produced jointly by the City of Montreal, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ), who also share their expertise, this program aims to provide strategic assistance to the reconstruction of Haiti by focusing on the strengthening of the institutional capacity of haitian local authorities affected by the earthquake of 2010. To this end, a tripartite agreement was signed between the partners as well as a contribution agreement with CIDA.
