More than 36 hours after the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the situation in the country is still chaotic. Our Canadian police members, who are accounted for, have been able to get some sleep, food and water and are reportedly doing well.
The majority of the Canadian police contingent, including the contingent commander, are at the logistics base at the Port-au-Prince airport. They are securing the base and helping with humanitarian assistance. The remaining police officers located in remote regions continue to do their work as usual.
There are a lot of reports and speculation around this crisis and the status of our two members, however, please know that efforts are still underway to locate the two missing officers: RCMP Superintendent Douglas Coates (Ottawa) and RCMP Sergeant Mark Gallagher (Nova Scotia). The Canadian contingent commander is liaising with Canadian Forces and the United Nations on the searches. We are doing everything we can to find our missing members under these exceptional circumstances and are also waiting for additional resources to assist us in our work.
The RCMP is in touch with the families of all police officers deployed to Haiti on a regular basis, and is working in close collaboration with policing partners who have members in mission to facilitate information sharing.
Early this morning, the RCMP, in collaboration with the Service de police de Montréal and la Sûreté du Québec deployed three additional Canadian police officers to Haiti. Their role is to provide a clear assessment of the situation in the country, assess the mandate of the MINUSTAH and provide support to the Canadian police officers on the ground.
Our thoughts are with our police colleagues on the ground and we hope for the safe return of Doug and Mark.
William J.S. Elliott
