Ottawa announced Sunday it would send chartered jets to Cairo to evacuate Canadians from the seething Egyptian capital where anti-government protests have killed 97 and injured thousands.
“The situation is deteriorating. The situation is not under control. Therefore it is incumbent on this government to protect Canadians and make sure they are safe,” Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon said at a hastily announced press conference on the heels of a similar decision by the U.S.
Details on the evacuation plan were scarce, however. Cannon said the planes could arrive “as soon as tomorrow,” but did not specify how many flights would arrive or when.
He said that at least 700 to 800 Canadians would “hopefully” be evacuated by Monday to safe havens in Europe, naming London, Paris and Frankfurt. There are an estimated 6,500 Canadians in Egypt.
Those who choose to leave on government-chartered planes will be expected to reimburse the government for the cost of the flight, Cannon said, and must arrange their own transport back to Canada from Europe. No Canadians have been hurt or killed in the unrest, Cannon said, adding that orders for the evacuation plan came directly from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Foreign nationals attempting to leave Egypt on commercial flights have reported a mob scene at Cairo’s airport.
“The airport is literally elbow to elbow with people. It’s just crazy,” said Toronto-area resident Amy Bertulli, who managed to get a flight to London from Cairo after her original one was abruptly cancelled.
Ottawa’s move came hours after the U.S. State Department announced that it would send chartered flights to Cairo to evacuate American citizens. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Janice Jacobs said those flights would be provided on a cost-recovery basis, and U.S. citizens are also being asked to find their own transportation home from Europe.
Several other countries, including Japan and Turkey, are either sending planes or putting them on standby. Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, sent his personal jet to collect Iraqi citizens.
For Toronto’s James Di Fiore, whose girlfriend Michelle is stuck in a Cairo hotel with her mother, the announcement was simply one more hurdle in an ongoing exercise in frustration.
“It took too long. I’m not a very happy person with our government right now,” he said. “I would love to sound all thankful and everything, and I guess I am to a certain extent, but they just sort of dropped the ball until an hour ago.”
Di Fiore spent hours on hold the day before with the Foreign Affairs emergency operations centre, and when he finally made contact with a representative, he found that little information was available.
Canadians in Egypt and their families at home who want more information on the chartered flights were also being directed to the emergency operations centre at (613) 996-8885. But messages left at that number were not returned by late Sunday and at 10 p.m., callers got a recording saying the voice mail box was full.
Citizens were also directed to call the Canadian Embassy in Cairo, but that line directed emergency calls to the same operations centre.
Di Fiore also questioned why Canadians stranded in Egypt are being asked to foot their own bill. In 2006, Ottawa paid for the evacuation of 15,000 citizens from war-torn Lebanon, costing taxpayers $94 million according to the Department of Finance.
Cannon reiterated the government’s position on the unrest in Egypt, calling on the country’s government to renew its commitment to democracy and dialogue.
Egypt’s government should “listen to the aspirations of the Egyptian people” Cannon said, but called the crisis “an internal matter” and said it would be inappropriate for Canada to intercede.
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