On Tuesday, as part of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, Haiti's Ambassador to Ottawa, Canada, Frantz Liautaud sent his wishes to the Haitian diaspora in Canada.

Wishes of the Ambassador Liautaud :

"Dear compatriots of Canada,

In the name of Mrs Liautaud, in that of the devoted staff of the Mission and in my personal capacity, I have the honor to associate myself with the Government of the Republic to extend to you, to your distinguished families, our most sincere wishes on wishes on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.

To each of you, we wish wholeheartedly: Health, Happiness, Prosperity.

In this annual review period, I do not think it appropriate to dwell on our recurring problems in Haitian daily life. Qualified leaders take care of that, striving in their respective fields, to find solutions adapted to our reality. I have faith in better tomorrows.

Also, I do not intend to discuss the disastrous consequences of the devastation caused by the violent passing of Matthew in Haiti. The scale of the disaster is such that it will take us some time to recover. Again, let us trust them.

Dear friends,

As the curtain falls on 2016, I want to express my pride to express to you my pride in honoring your exemplary behavior in Canadian society. This pride seems to me to be quite legitimate, if only by referring to the Resolution, adopted unanimously in the House of Commons, by which the Honorable Members of Parliament expressed 'their gratitude to the Haitian community of Canada, for its active contribution to Canada's socio-economic progress'.

The author of the Resolution, recently deceased, the late deputy Mauril Bélanger https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18357-haiti-politic-the-haitian-lose-a-great-friend-in-canada.html was in fact decorated in the Canadian Parliament, at my suggestion, by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lener Renauld on behalf of the Haitian Government.

May the Haitian diaspora, in its entirety, draw inspiration from the image of your community in foreign lands !

Dear compatriots of Canada,

This 1 January 2017, the Republic of Haiti commemorates the 213th anniversary of its independence. A mythical date, which brings back to our memory so many heroic and sublime deeds. But also many others less flattering, even tainting sometimes the sacrosanct heritage bequeathed by the Founding Fathers...

In this context, it would perhaps be appropriate, at this turning point in our life as a people, to unite our forces, our knowledge and the resources of our intelligence in the service of the common good. The hour seems to me to have come, in a burst of patriotism and reason, to the harmony of living together : an obligatory path leading to political stability, human development, modernity and socio-economic and cultural progress of our country. So we will have deserved our country.

May God help us!

Frantz Liautaud

Ambassador of Haiti

Ottawa, December 20, 2016"

HL/ HaitiLibre