By Lloyd Mackey

The logo for the Montreal Ministerial Preparatory Conference on Haiti post-quake reconstruction included a sketch of a jigsaw puzzle. It was a simple, stark symbol of the estimated 10 years of rebuilding ahead, for the tiny and ravaged Caribbean nation.

I could not go to Haiti, but it was no problem hopping a VIA train and traveling two hours to a spot about 500 feet from the International Civil Aviation Organization headquarters in Montreal. That is where the preparatory meeting took place.

Later in this OttawaWatch, I will provide World Vision Canada president David Toycen's perspective on what was happening in Montreal, and how faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fit into the jigsaw puzzle.

In Montreal, people such as Canadian foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon, American secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Haiti prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive conclaved with another 50 or so world leaders.

At the end of the day, they had laid the groundwork for a March re-construction and donor conference to be held at United Nations headquarters.

The day's headliner phrase came from Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, who told his conferees to prepare for "10 years of hard work" in Haiti.

He said they needed to focus on sustainability, effectiveness and accountability if any long term recovery from the earthquake was to be realized.

While it was Cannon who chaired the Montreal meeting, there was general recognition that it was Harper's dogged and determined style that brought the meeting to fruition. And the government he leads was responding to its already established policy of focusing -- no matter the other geopolitical concerns -- on cohesiveness in the western hemisphere "neighbourhood."

Harper's three points translated into a closing statement by Cannon that provided principles, strategic objectives and a "road map" for Haiti's reconstruction and redevelopment.

The principles were phrased in fairly inclusive language. But they started with the assumption that the owners of their own future were the Haitians themselves.

Canadian CBC reporter Terry Milewski posed a question: "Who is driving the bus?" Cannon, suggesting he was "astounded" by the question, said the Haitians themselves needed to be in charge. But, by the time other key players spoke up, it became obvious that United Nations special envoy to Haiti, Edmond Mulet, would likely emerge as a significant "co-pilot".

Cannon also noted that the Haitian "diaspora" in Canada had brought constructive information to the early talks in the wake of the quake. The fact that a large part of that diaspora resides in Montreal was, indeed, one of the reasons for the preparatory meeting taking place there.

There was consensus that the re-building process must involve the diaspora in both Canada and France, because their members have consistently supported relatives back in Haiti - which is one of the poorest nations in the Western world.

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David Toycen was one of several NGO representatives at the meeting; his organization was the only faith-based one.

World Vision (WV) Canada's "capacity" to mount a considerable amount of aid activity in Haiti was well-known to Canadian, Haitian and UN leaders. But Toycen pointed out that two other evangelically-based agencies, Mennonite Central Committee and the Salvation Army also are substantially active there.

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He added, however, that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Christian organizations of various stripes, both Haitian and from other parts of the Americas and Europe, work in the country. "So it makes for a complex question: How do you coordinate, when they are not part of a larger structure, to help and participate in a common plan?"

Having said that, he noted that there were already many Christian aid, medical and child care organizations getting together, both pre- and post-quake, to deal with the pressing questions.

Toycen spoke of the great need for "humility" among the nations, in the task of bringing "new life and a new Haiti" out of the present crisis.

"There has been much controversy over Haiti throughout the years. There is an elite there, with tremendous control. We will need the best people and the best practices in place. And we need to draw from experiences in other nations that needed re-building - the Marshall Plan (for post-war Germany), South Korea (after the Korean War) and the 2004 tsunami in Asia."

Toycen added, after his reference to the tsunami, that this is Caribbean America, not Asia; so planners and developers need to identify the differences, as well as learn from the experiences.

The WV Canada president noted that the long-term help for Haiti will involve a "multi-donor fund" growing out of the March conference.

"It is really important that principles and a framework are in place, which ensures that the help goes to those most in need.

"Often, a lot has gone to the large multi-laterals -- like the UN, the World Bank and large multinational corporations. That means education and health issues have been overlooked, and the NGOs have not gotten enough of the funding."

From that perspective, WV agrees strongly with Oxfam, which has been urging the cancelling of Haiti's $890 million international debt, as well as support for Haitian women, farmers and small businesses.

Toycen sees a need to reference the 2009 plan, largely inspired by former US president Bill Clinton's William J. Clinton Foundation, which was "beginning to work."

Toycen asserted: "Things were getting better. Killings and kidnappings had dropped, and there was a livelihood future for more children. But there is a need, for example, to get the nation off the burning of charcoal, which has been decimating Haiti's forests.

"However, there has always, as well, been an encouraging and important entrepreneurial spirit among Haitian people. Some 40 banks are open again, after the quake, as well as large marketing stores in higher-end areas [of Port au Prince]."

One large concern, already expressed by Haitian leaders, Toycen pointed out, is that hurricane season is coming -- and the plan for 400,000 tents to house homeless people has to be very short-term indeed. Modular homes will be needed to withstand those storms, he emphasized.

But, in his view, that tents-vs.-housing issue alone is representative of the "jigsaw puzzle" question.

And he welcomed the idea of a "joint assessment" - a concept that Hillary Clinton described, in Montreal, as "novel." And that assessment needs to be done in advance of donor decisions. "Good governance and [sound] donor conditions and decision are extremely challenging."

Note: Toycen speaks about his direct experiences in Haiti, in a separate interview in CC.com's lead story this week, entitled: 'Haiti a place of despair -- and faith.'

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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006), More Faithful Than We Think: Stories and Insights on Canadian Leaders Doing Politics Christianly (BayRidge Books, 2005) and Like Father, Like Son: Ernest Manning and Preston Manning (ECW Press, 1997). Lloyd can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.

January 27/2010