ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Former Haiti PM Laurent Lamothe seeks to contest Canadian sanctions in Federal Court

Laurent Lamothe, a former prime minister of Haiti, speaks during an interview in Miami Beach, Fla., July 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Lynne Sladky Laurent Lamothe, a former prime minister of Haiti, speaks during an interview in Miami Beach, Fla., July 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Lynne Sladky
Share
OTTAWA -

Former Haitian prime minister Laurent Lamothe is asking a judge to strike down sanctions Canada imposed on him over claims he supported gangs that have unleashed a humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

Lamothe filed a notice of application Thursday with the Federal Court in Montreal, arguing the sanctions were an arbitrary decision that did not give Lamothe a chance to offer his side of the story.

The order asks a judge to remove Lamothe from the sanctions list and to compel Ottawa to turn over the documents it used to make its decision.

In recent months, Canada has sanctioned 13 of Haiti's political and business elite, which freezes any Canadian assets they hold in an effort to stop the flow of cash and weapons to criminal organizations.

Violent, feuding gangs have taken over the capital of Port-au-Prince, sexually assaulting women and children while curtailing access to health care, electricity and clean water.

The Liberals say their sanctions are meant to isolate political leaders who have set the conditions for chaos, in order to bring about a consensus in Haiti on how foreign governments can help.

Haiti's unelected prime minister has called for an international military intervention to allow for humanitarian aid and to create the conditions for an election. The U.S. has said Canada would be an ideal country to lead such a force.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Ottawa does not want to lead yet another failed intervention in Haiti, after numerous United Nations operations meant to stabilize the country.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly had Lamothe sanctioned on Nov. 17, along with two others whom Ottawa accused of "using their status as current or previous public office holders to protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption."

Lamothe publicly disputed being sanctioned after he learned the news on social media, arguing he had worked to limit organized crime in Haiti during his term as prime minister, from mid-2012 to late 2014.

His lawyer now argues in French-language filings that "the decision to add the applicant's name to the (sanctions) schedule was made contrary to the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2022.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The New Brunswick RCMP has issued an alert as officers search for an armed teenager in the Moncton and Shediac areas.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected