"After this tour, we know that we are not alone. We have seen that there are people in Canada who understand the struggle of the Haitian people. For me in particular, to be able to speak about the situation of the Haitian women who are most excluded, most marginalized – I now know that we are not forgotten."--Euvonie Georges-Auguste, speaking in Montreal on June 4, 2007).

From May 22 to June 5, three trade union and women's rights leaders from Haiti spoke in eleven cities across Canada. The speakers were:

* Paul Loulou Chéry; Secretary General of the Confédération des travailleurs haitiens (CTH, Confederation of Haitian Workers)

* Ginette Apollon; Director of the Women's Commission of the CTH, and President of the health workers union affiliate of the CTH

*Euvonie Georges-Auguste, women's rights activist, and spiritual leader of the Voudon religion

The tour visited the following cities--Halifax, Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria. It was endorsed by CHAN, a large number of trade union and other social organizations in Canada, too numerous to list. They include:

* Three national unions--the Public Service Alliance of Canada, National Union of Public and General Employees, and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. * The Canadian Labour Congress * Labour councils in Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, New Westminster, and Victoria. * The National Action Committee on the Status of Women chapter in Halifax. * Student groups in Halifax, Toronto and Guelph. * Unions of health care workers in Alberta and British Columbia.

The purpose of the tour was to educate people across Canada and Quebec about the catastrophic social, economic and political conditions that prevail in Haiti, more than three years after a foreign invasion and coup that ousted the popular government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Lavalas political party.

The speakers were representative of the majority opinion of the Haitian people. They want an end to the foreign occupation of their country and they are demanding substantial and meaningful international aid to help Haiti rebuild its shattered economy and social infrastructure.

The speakers' talks detailed the shocking conditions of life today in Haiti. According to the CTH leaders, the majority of Haitian adults are unemployed. In the countryside, where the majority of Haitians live, farmers cannot earn a livelihood. They have little or no access to credit, nor to markets and basic inputs such as seed and fertilizer. Agricultural laborers earn less than subsistence wages.

By all accounts, the solidarity tour was a great success. Public meetings in the eleven cities were well attended. More than one thousand people attended tour speaking events across the country, and hundreds more heard the speakers at guest appearances. Numerous special meetings were held with trade unions, women's rights groups, and other grassroots organizations. Several tens of thousands of dollars were raised to support the ongoing work of the organizations in Haiti represented by the speakers.

Participants at tour events were greatly moved by the description of the unbelievable difficulties of ordinary life for the Haitian people. As Paul Chéry described:

"The governments in Canada and the US say they are helping Haiti, but they are not. Haiti needs friends, not hypocrites…We are not animals- we need to live like human beings. We need jobs and food so that we can live like people."

Ginette Apollon commented: "This tour has been unbelievable. The reactions that we had from people, the warm reception we received, and the support and solidarity were superb. I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of other countries, and I have never felt this level of support and real connection with the people in different cities that came out to hear us and to meet with us. I greatly hope that the links that we have made through this tour can be followed up on, and strengthened."

We conclude this report with a few words from Paul Loulou Chéry of the CTH:

"There really are not words to express our appreciation. All I can say is one, big “merci!” to all the people involved in organizing or endorsing our speaking tour. We are returning to Haiti more confident than ever that there are people in Canada – all over – that support our struggle. We hope and anticipate there will be delegations traveling to Haiti from Canada and Québec as a result of this tour, and we look forward to welcoming you and giving you a first-hand perspective on our work and our situation. "