The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The experiences of 13 individuals who lived suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti were elicited. Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology served as both the guiding philosophy and methodology for this research study, while Eriksson’s (1981) theory of caritative caring provided the caring science lens. Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner’s (1989) seven-stage method of hermeneutical analysis provided the structure for data analysis. The relational themes that were interpreted were: Experiencing the Unimaginable, Awakening to a Changed Reality, Agonizing for Others, Compounding Losses, Finding a Way Forward, and Being Transformed. These six relational themes are illuminated and aesthetically re-presented in six watercolor paintings. The constitutive pattern Suffering With and For Others expressed the meaning of suffering for participants through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a lived experience. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Steel hollow section members filled with concrete have been frequently used in recent construction industry as columns and beams and beam-columns because of their superior performance and constructability. Previous research demonstrated that such system has large energy absorption capacity which is critical in the event of an earthquake. By filling steel RHS with concrete, the failure of the steel shell due to local buckling can be delayed and the ductility of the concrete core can be improved as a result of the confinement of the steel shell. This type of composite section may be used in various structures including frames of high rise buildings, bridges, offshore structures, cast-in-situ piles in foundation etc. Design methods for concrete-filled steel tubular sections are recommended in a number of code of practices. Due to the significant differences in the material properties between normal strength concrete and high strength concrete, there is a need to study the behaviour of composite sections with higher strength concretes. The study emphasises ultimate strength, ductility, post-failure strength reserve and interface bond. It also emphasises ductility and post-failure strength of the composite beams due to the brittle behaviour of higher strength concretes when compared to normal strength concrete. Spreadsheet graph were used to present the results such as load versus strains, load versus deflections etc. In this thesis analytical study is presented on the calculation of ultimate moment of resistance of the concrete-filled RHS beams. Among the main considerations of the derivation, the steel portion was assumed either elastic-perfectly plastic or perfectly plastic and concrete carries no strength in the tensile zone. At the interface both full bond and partial bond were assumed for comparison. Efforts were also made to calculate the midspan deflections of the composite beams. Simple analytical expressions derived from this study can be coded to a prgrammable calculator or in a small spreadsheet program for design use. Finite element studies were carried out by using a proprietorship software package ANSYS. In the analysis of concrete-filled, three types of elements with large deformation and nonlinear capabilities were used. A plastic shell element, a solid concrete element with cracking and crushing capabilities, and a nonlinear spring contact element were used to model the steel shell, the concrete core and the interface respectively. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Northern Central America is a tectonically complex zone defined by its borders with Cocos and North America plates. The Middle America subduction zone and the strike-slip motion along the North America-Caribbean plate boundary, in that order, control most of its deformation. The interaction between the different elements of the studied area is evident from the high seismicity in the region, especially along plate boundaries. Also in the interior of the region, seismicity shows that deformation takes place, though in lesser degree. In a time window of 30 years, three earthquakes with moment magnitude larger than 7 struck northern Central America evincing the need to estimate the seismic hazard for the zone. To tackle the problem, we compiled a catalogue of hypocenters commencing in 1964, defined seismogenic sources and described the evolution of earthquake activity through a Poisson model. Probabilistic seismic hazard (PSH) calculations for the next 50 years were performed. The highest estimate of seismic hazard was obtained for the zone adjacent to the subduction zone. Because of the fundamental importance of demarcating seismogenic sources in the PSH analysis, i.e. defining the seismotectonic model, we extended the catalogue to cover 102 years for the whole northern Central America. We have studied the North America-Caribbean plate boundary in order to refine the fault representation. Different techniques were used, like that of body-waveform modeling, allowing us to limit the extent of depth of faulting to 20 km. The seismic moment tensor was used to estimate the deformation velocities on known tectonic structures, including those of the Honduras depression and borderland faults. Finally, we made use of the Coulomb stress criterion to determine the relation between earthquake occurrence and static stress changes following major earthquakes.</p>

<p>The potential of variations of <i>b-</i>values in the G-R relation, log<i>N=a-bM</i> as earthquake precursors for small events (rockbursts) in Zinkgruvan mine, Sweden and for tectonic (large) earthquakes in the Andaman-Sumatra region were investigated. </p><p>The temporal frequency-magnitude distribution, <i>b(t)</i>, of rockbursts in Zinkgruvan mine was examined using high quality data recorded during the period November 1996 to April 2004 with magnitude ranges from <i>M</i><i>w</i>= -2.4 to 2.6. A sliding time-window was applied to compute <i>b</i>-values. The windows contain 50 events and were shifted with steps of 5 events. The results indicated that <i>b</i>-values significantly drop preceding rockbursts of magnitude <i>M</i><i>w</i>≥1.6.</p><p>Temporal and spatial variations of <i>b</i>-values were also examined for tectonic earthquakes, magnitude <i>M</i><i>w</i>≥4.1, in the Andaman-Sumatra region. Earthquake data from the ISC, IDC, NEIC and HVRD earthquake catalogs for a period from 01/01/1995 to 12/26/2004 were used for analysis. Spatial variations of <i>b</i> were calculated from circular areas containing 50 events, with nodes on a 0.5° x 0.5° grid. The analysis shows that <i>b(t)</i> estimates using data from different catalogs<i> </i>are comparable and that large earthquakes are preceded by a drop in <i>b(t)</i> of about 0.3~1. The distribution of stress deduced from <i>b</i>-value mapping shows that large earthquakes occurred in the high stress, i.e. low <i>b</i>-value, areas.</p><p>Aftershock sequences of the <i>M</i><i>w</i>=9, December 26, 2004 and the <i>M</i><i>w</i>=8.7, March 28, 2005 shocks were investigated by using the same methods. Results from aftershock sequences show similar behaviour as for the large and presumed independent main events.</p><p>The observed variations of <i>b</i>-values with time and in space support the hypothesis that <i>b</i>-values have a precursory potential. The method can be used for a wide range of earthquake magnitude, from microearthquakes (<i>M</i><i>w</i><3) to giant tectonic shocks (<i>M</i><i>w</i>~9) and for both of independent shocks and aftershocks.</p>

The occurrence of earthquakes is characterized by a high degree of spatiotemporal complexity. Although numerous patterns, e.g. fore- and aftershock sequences, are well-known, the underlying mechanisms are not observable and thus not understood. Because the recurrence times of large earthquakes are usually decades or centuries, the number of such events in corresponding data sets is too small to draw conclusions with reasonable statistical significance. Therefore, the present study combines both, numerical modeling and analysis of real data in order to unveil the relationships between physical mechanisms and observational quantities. The key hypothesis is the validity of the so-called "critical point concept" for earthquakes, which assumes large earthquakes to occur as phase transitions in a spatially extended many-particle system, similar to percolation models. New concepts are developed to detect critical states in simulated and in natural data sets. The results indicate that important features of seismicity like the frequency-size distribution and the temporal clustering of earthquakes depend on frictional and structural fault parameters. In particular, the degree of quenched spatial disorder (the "roughness") of a fault zone determines whether large earthquakes occur quasiperiodically or more clustered. This illustrates the power of numerical models in order to identify regions in parameter space, which are relevant for natural seismicity. The critical point concept is verified for both, synthetic and natural seismicity, in terms of a critical state which precedes a large earthquake: a gradual roughening of the (unobservable) stress field leads to a scale-free (observable) frequency-size distribution. Furthermore, the growth of the spatial correlation length and the acceleration of the seismic energy release prior to large events is found. The predictive power of these precursors is, however, limited. Instead of forecasting time, location, and magnitude of individual events, a contribution to a broad multiparameter approach is encouraging. / Das Auftreten von Erdbeben zeichnet sich durch eine hohe raumzeitliche Komplexität aus. Obwohl zahlreiche Muster, wie Vor- und Nachbeben bekannt sind, weiß man wenig über die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen, da diese sich direkter Beobachtung entziehen. Die Zeit zwischen zwei starken Erdbeben in einer seismisch aktiven Region beträgt Jahrzehnte bis Jahrhunderte. Folglich ist die Anzahl solcher Ereignisse in einem Datensatz gering und es ist kaum möglich, allein aus Beobachtungsdaten statistisch signifikante Aussagen über deren Eigenschaften abzuleiten. Die vorliegende Arbeit nutzt daher numerische Modellierungen einer Verwerfungszone in Verbindung mit Datenanalyse, um die Beziehung zwischen physikalischen Mechanismen und beobachteter Seismizität zu studieren. Die zentrale Hypothese ist die Gültigkeit des sogenannten "kritischen Punkt Konzeptes" für Seismizität, d.h. starke Erdbeben werden als Phasenübergänge in einem räumlich ausgedehnten Vielteilchensystem betrachtet, ähnlich wie in Modellen aus der statistischen Physik (z.B. Perkolationsmodelle). Es werden praktische Konzepte entwickelt, die es ermöglichen, kritische Zustände in simulierten und in beobachteten Daten sichtbar zu machen. Die Resultate zeigen, dass wesentliche Eigenschaften von Seismizität, etwa die Magnitudenverteilung und das raumzeitliche Clustern von Erdbeben, durch Reibungs- und Bruchparameter bestimmt werden. Insbesondere der Grad räumlicher Unordnung (die "Rauhheit") einer Verwerfungszone hat Einfluss darauf, ob starke Erdbeben quasiperiodisch oder eher zufällig auftreten. Dieser Befund zeigt auf, wie numerische Modelle genutzt werden können, um den Parameterraum für reale Verwerfungen einzugrenzen. Das kritische Punkt Konzept kann in synthetischer und in beobachteter Seismizität verifiziert werden. Dies artikuliert sich auch in Vorläuferphänomenen vor großen Erdbeben: Die Aufrauhung des (unbeobachtbaren) Spannungsfeldes führt zu einer Skalenfreiheit der (beobachtbaren) Größenverteilung; die räumliche Korrelationslänge wächst und die seismische Energiefreisetzung wird beschleunigt. Ein starkes Erdbeben kann in einem zusammenhängenden Bruch oder in einem unterbrochenen Bruch (Vorbeben und Hauptbeben) stattfinden. Die beobachtbaren Vorläufer besitzen eine begrenzte Prognosekraft für die Auftretenswahrscheinlichkeit starker Erdbeben - eine präzise Vorhersage von Ort, Zeit, und Stärke eines nahenden Erdbebens ist allerdings nicht möglich. Die genannten Parameter erscheinen eher vielversprechend als Beitrag zu einem umfassenden Multiparameteransatz für eine verbesserte zeitabhängige Gefährdungsabschätzung.

Die relativ hohe seismische Aktivität der Tote-Meer-Störungszone (Dead Sea Fault Zone - DSFZ) ist mit einem hohen Gefahrenpotential verbunden, welches zu einem erheblichen Erdbebenrisiko für die Ballungszentren in den Ländern Syrien, Libanon, Palästina, Jordanien und Israel führt. Eine Vielzahl massiver, zerstörerischer Erdbeben hat sich in diesem Raum in den letzten zwei Jahrtausenden ereignet. Ihre Wiederholungsrate zeigt Anzeichen für eine zeitliche Abhängigkeit, insbesondere wenn lange Zeiträume in Betracht gezogen werden. Die Berücksichtigung der zeitlichen Abhängigkeit des Auftretens von Erdbeben ist für eine realistische seismische Gefährdungseinschätzung von großer Bedeutung. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, anhand des zeitabhängigen Auftretens von Erdbeben eine robuste wahrscheinlichkeitstheoretische seismische Gefährdungseinschätzung am Beispiel der DSFZ zu entwickeln. Mittels dieser Methode soll die zeitliche Abhängigkeit des Auftretens von großen Erdbeben (Mw ≥ 6) untersucht und somit eine Gefährdungseinschätzung für das Untersuchungsgebiet getroffen werden. Primär gilt es zu prüfen, ob das Auftreten von großen Erdbeben tatsächlich einer zeitlichen Abhängigkeit unterliegt und wenn ja, inwiefern diese bestimmt werden kann. Zu diesem Zweck werden insgesamt vier zeitabhängige statistische Verteilungen (Weibull, Gamma, Lognormal und Brownian Passage Time (BPT)) sowie die zeitunabhängige Exponentialverteilung (Poisson-Prozess) getestet. Zur Abschätzung der jeweiligen Modellparameter wird eine modifizierte Methode der gewichteten Maximum-Likelihood-Schätzung (MLE) verwendet. Um einzuschätzen, ob die Wiederholungsrate von Erdbeben einer unimodalen oder multimodalen Form folgt, wird ein nichtparametrischer Bootstrap-Test für Multimodalität durchgeführt. Im Falle einer multimodalen Form wird neben der MLE zusätzlich eine Erwartungsmaximierungsmethode (EM) herangezogen. Zur Auswahl des am besten geeigneten Modells wird zum einem das Bayesschen Informationskriterium (BIC) und zum anderen der modifizierte Kolmogorow-Smirnow-Goodness-of-Fit-Test angewendet. Abschließend werden mittels der Bootstrap-Methode die Konfidenzintervalle der geschätzten Parameter berechnet. Als Datengrundlage werden Erdbeben mit Mw ≥ 6 seit dem Jahre 300 n. Chr. herangezogen. Das Untersuchungsgebiet erstreckt sich von 29.5° N bis 37° N und umfasst ein ca. 40 km breites Gebiet entlang der DSFZ. Aufgrund der seismotektonischen Situation im Untersuchungsgebiet wird zwischen einer südlichen, zentralen und nördlichen Subzone unterschieden. Dabei kann die südliche Subzone aus Mangel an Daten nicht für die Analysen herangezogen werden. Die Ergebnisse für die zentrale Subzone zeigen keinen signifikanten multimodalen Verlauf der Wiederholungsrate von Erdbeben. Des Weiteren ist kein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen den zeitabhängigen und dem zeitunabhängigem Modell zu verzeichnen. Da das zeitunabhängige Modell vergleichsweise einfach interpretierbar ist, wird die Wiederholungsrate von Erdbeben in dieser Subzone unter Annahme der Exponentialverteilungs-Hypothese abgeschätzt. Sie wird demnach als zeitunabhängig betrachtet und beträgt 9.72 * 10-3 Erdbeben (mit Mw ≥ 6) pro Jahr. Einen besonderen Fall stellt die nördliche Subzone dar. In diesem Gebiet tritt im Durchschnitt alle 51 Jahre ein massives Erdbeben (Mw ≥ 6) auf. Das letzte Erdbeben dieser Größe ereignete sich 1872 und liegt somit bereits 137 Jahre zurück. Somit ist in diesem Gebiet ein Erdbeben dieser Stärke überfällig. Im statistischen Mittel liegt die Zeit zwischen zwei Erdbeben zu 96% unter 137 Jahren. Zudem wird eine deutliche zeitliche Abhängigkeit der Erdbeben-Wiederauftretensrate durch die Ergebnisse der in der Arbeit neu entwickelten statistischen Verfahren bestätigt. Dabei ist festzustellen, dass die Wiederholungsrate insbesondere kurz nach einem Erdbeben eine sehr hohe zeitliche Abhängigkeit aufweist. Am besten repräsentiert werden die seismischen Bedingungen in der genannten Subzone durch ein bi-modales Weibull-Weibull-Modell. Die Wiederholungsrate ist eine glatte Zeitfunktion, welche zwei Häufungen von Datenpunkten in der Zeit nach dem Erdbeben zeigt. Dabei umfasst die erste Häufung einen Zeitraum von 80 Jahren, ausgehend vom Zeitpunkt des jeweiligen Bebens. Innerhalb dieser Zeitspanne ist die Wiederholungsrate extrem zeitabhängig. Die Wiederholungsrate direkt nach einem Beben ist sehr niedrig und steigert sich in den folgenden 10 Jahren erheblich bis zu einem Maximum von 0.024 Erdbeben/Jahr. Anschließend sinkt die Rate und erreicht ihr Minimum nach weiteren 70 Jahren mit 0.0145 Erdbeben/Jahr. An dieses Minimum schließt sich die zweite Häufung von Daten an, dessen Dauer abhängig von der Erdbebenwiederholungszeit ist. Innerhalb dieses Zeitfensters nimmt die Erdbeben-Wiederauftretensrate annähernd konstant um 0.015 Erdbeben/Jahr zu. Diese Ergebnisse bilden die Grundlage für eine zeitabhängige probabilistische seismische Gefährdungseinschätzung (PSHA) für die seismische Quellregion, die den nördlichen Raum der DSFZ umfasst. / The seismicity of the Dead Sea fault zone (DSFZ) during the last two millennia is characterized by a number of damaging and partly devastating earthquakes. These events pose a considerable seismic hazard and seismic risk to Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Israel. The occurrence rates for large earthquakes along the DSFZ show indications to temporal changes in the long-term view. The aim of this thesis is to find out, if the occurrence rates of large earthquakes (Mw ≥ 6) in different parts of the DSFZ are time-dependent and how. The results are applied to probabilistic seismic hazard assessments (PSHA) in the DSFZ and neighboring areas. Therefore, four time-dependent statistical models (distributions), including Weibull, Gamma, Lognormal and Brownian Passage Time (BPT), are applied beside the exponential distribution (Poisson process) as the classical time-independent model. In order to make sure, if the earthquake occurrence rate follows a unimodal or a multimodal form, a nonparametric bootstrap test of multimodality has been done. A modified method of weighted Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) is applied to estimate the parameters of the models. For the multimodal cases, an Expectation Maximization (EM) method is used in addition to the MLE method. The selection of the best model is done by two methods; the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) as well as a modified Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit test. Finally, the confidence intervals of the estimated parameters corresponding to the candidate models are calculated, using the bootstrap confidence sets. In this thesis, earthquakes with Mw ≥ 6 along the DSFZ, with a width of about 20 km and inside 29.5° ≤ latitude ≤ 37° are considered as the dataset. The completeness of this dataset is calculated since 300 A.D. The DSFZ has been divided into three sub zones; the southern, the central and the northern sub zone respectively. The central and the northern sub zones have been investigated but not the southern sub zone, because of the lack of sufficient data. The results of the thesis for the central part of the DSFZ show that the earthquake occurrence rate does not significantly pursue a multimodal form. There is also no considerable difference between the time-dependent and time-independent models. Since the time-independent model is easier to interpret, the earthquake occurrence rate in this sub zone has been estimated under the exponential distribution assumption (Poisson process) and will be considered as time-independent with the amount of 9.72 * 10-3 events/year. The northern part of the DSFZ is a special case, where the last earthquake has occurred in 1872 (about 137 years ago). However, the mean recurrence time of Mw ≥ 6 events in this area is about 51 years. Moreover, about 96 percent of the observed earthquake inter-event times (the time between two successive earthquakes) in the dataset regarding to this sub zone are smaller than 137 years. Therefore, it is a zone with an overdue earthquake. The results for this sub zone verify that the earthquake occurrence rate is strongly time-dependent, especially shortly after an earthquake occurrence. A bimodal Weibull-Weibull model has been selected as the best fit for this sub zone. The earthquake occurrence rate, corresponding to the selected model, is a smooth function of time and reveals two clusters within the time after an earthquake occurrence. The first cluster begins right after an earthquake occurrence, lasts about 80 years, and is explicitly time-dependent. The occurrence rate, regarding to this cluster, is considerably lower right after an earthquake occurrence, increases strongly during the following ten years and reaches its maximum about 0.024 events/year, then decreases over the next 70 years to its minimum about 0.0145 events/year. The second cluster begins 80 years after an earthquake occurrence and lasts until the next earthquake occurs. The earthquake occurrence rate, corresponding to this cluster, increases extremely slowly, such as it can be considered as an almost constant rate about 0.015 events/year. The results are applied to calculate the time-dependent PSHA in the northern part of the DSFZ and neighbouring areas.

The potential of variations of b-values in the G-R relation, logN=a-bM as earthquake precursors for small events (rockbursts) in Zinkgruvan mine, Sweden and for tectonic (large) earthquakes in the Andaman-Sumatra region were investigated. The temporal frequency-magnitude distribution, b(t), of rockbursts in Zinkgruvan mine was examined using high quality data recorded during the period November 1996 to April 2004 with magnitude ranges from Mw= -2.4 to 2.6. A sliding time-window was applied to compute b-values. The windows contain 50 events and were shifted with steps of 5 events. The results indicated that b-values significantly drop preceding rockbursts of magnitude Mw≥1.6. Temporal and spatial variations of b-values were also examined for tectonic earthquakes, magnitude Mw≥4.1, in the Andaman-Sumatra region. Earthquake data from the ISC, IDC, NEIC and HVRD earthquake catalogs for a period from 01/01/1995 to 12/26/2004 were used for analysis. Spatial variations of b were calculated from circular areas containing 50 events, with nodes on a 0.5° x 0.5° grid. The analysis shows that b(t) estimates using data from different catalogs are comparable and that large earthquakes are preceded by a drop in b(t) of about 0.3~1. The distribution of stress deduced from b-value mapping shows that large earthquakes occurred in the high stress, i.e. low b-value, areas. Aftershock sequences of the Mw=9, December 26, 2004 and the Mw=8.7, March 28, 2005 shocks were investigated by using the same methods. Results from aftershock sequences show similar behaviour as for the large and presumed independent main events. The observed variations of b-values with time and in space support the hypothesis that b-values have a precursory potential. The method can be used for a wide range of earthquake magnitude, from microearthquakes (Mw&lt;3) to giant tectonic shocks (Mw~9) and for both of independent shocks and aftershocks.

The Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica is unusually close to the Middle America Trench (MAT), such that interface locking along the megathrust is observable under land. Here, rapid convergence between the downgoing Cocos and the over-riding Caribbean plates at ~85mm/yr allows for observable high strain rates, frequent large earthquakes and ongoing micro-seismicity. By taking advantage of this ideal location, a network of 20 on-land broadband seismometers was established in cooperation between UC Santa Cruz, Georgia Tech, and OVSICORI, with most stations operating since 2008. To evaluate what seismicity tells us about the ongoing state of coupling along the interface, we must consistently evaluate the location and magnitude of ongoing micro- seismicity. Because of large levels of anthropogenic, biologic, and coastal noise, automatic detection of earthquakes remains problematic in this region. Thus, we resorted to detailed manual investigation of earthquake phases. So far, we have detected nearly 7,000 earthquakes below or near Nicoya between February and August 2009. From these events we evaluate the fine-scale frequency-magnitude distribution (FMD) along the subduction megathrust. The results from this b-value mapping‟ are compared with an earlier study of the seismicity 9 years prior. In addition, we evaluate them relative to the latest geodetically derived locking. Preliminary comparisons of spatial and temporal variations of the b-values will be reported here. Because ongoing manual detection of earthquakes is extremely laborious and some events might be easily neglected, we are implementing a match-filter detection algorithm to search for new events from the continuous seismic data. This new approach has been previously successful in identifying aftershocks of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. To do so, we use the waveforms of 858 analyst-detected events as templates to search for similarly repeating events during the same periods that have been manually detected. Preliminary results on the effectiveness of this technique are reported. The overall goal of this research is to evaluate the evolution of stress along the megathrust that may indicate the location and magnitude of potentially large future earthquakes. To do so, I make the comparison between the FMD and the interface locking. Only positive correlations are observed in the Nicoya region. The result is different from the one derived from the seismic data set that was recorded 9 years before our data. Therefore, to substantiate the causes for the different relationships between the b-value and the coupling degree, we need additional data with more reliable magnitudes.

The Canadian response following the Haitian earthquake of 2010 was not solely focused on providing humanitarian assistance. Canada also used several immigration measures both at the federal level and the provincial level in Quebec in order to facilitate the immigration of eligible Haitians to Canada and their subsequent reunification with their Canadian family members. This thesis explores these immigration measures and evaluates their effectiveness. In addition, the research examines the role that the large Haitian Diaspora in Canada played in bringing about the adoption of a set of immigration measures specifically for Haitians. The research shows that the Canadian measures implemented were both multi-dimensional – as a variety of immigration mechanisms were used, and multi-level – as the Canadian response included both federal and provincial initiatives in Quebec. While a number of measures were introduced federally, none of these measures could be considered “special” as they were all possible under Canada’s immigration legislation, and they were not unique to the post-earthquake context. In contrast, Quebec’s Humanitarian Sponsorship Program for Haitians was very “special” in that it was the first time such a program was implemented for a large group of people. The research also points to the fact that although using immigration mechanisms to respond to a humanitarian crisis has its benefits, these mechanisms are not designed to provide prompt protection and relief to individuals affected by crisis situations. The research also demonstrates that the use of the available complementary protection measures (humanitarian and compassionate considerations, moratorium and protected person status) did not make up the primary thrust of the Canadian immigration response to the earthquake in Haiti. This fact is indicative of the inadequacy of these measures in providing protection to individuals displaced by environmental factors. Finally, it is argued that although the existence of a large Haitian Diaspora was influential in creating a climate open to the adoption of special measures for Haitians, the Haitian Diaspora did not necessarily influence the specifics of the measures adopted to a significant degree.

The Canadian response following the Haitian earthquake of 2010 was not solely focused on providing humanitarian assistance. Canada also used several immigration measures both at the federal level and the provincial level in Quebec in order to facilitate the immigration of eligible Haitians to Canada and their subsequent reunification with their Canadian family members. This thesis explores these immigration measures and evaluates their effectiveness. In addition, the research examines the role that the large Haitian Diaspora in Canada played in bringing about the adoption of a set of immigration measures specifically for Haitians. The research shows that the Canadian measures implemented were both multi-dimensional – as a variety of immigration mechanisms were used, and multi-level – as the Canadian response included both federal and provincial initiatives in Quebec. While a number of measures were introduced federally, none of these measures could be considered “special” as they were all possible under Canada’s immigration legislation, and they were not unique to the post-earthquake context. In contrast, Quebec’s Humanitarian Sponsorship Program for Haitians was very “special” in that it was the first time such a program was implemented for a large group of people. The research also points to the fact that although using immigration mechanisms to respond to a humanitarian crisis has its benefits, these mechanisms are not designed to provide prompt protection and relief to individuals affected by crisis situations. The research also demonstrates that the use of the available complementary protection measures (humanitarian and compassionate considerations, moratorium and protected person status) did not make up the primary thrust of the Canadian immigration response to the earthquake in Haiti. This fact is indicative of the inadequacy of these measures in providing protection to individuals displaced by environmental factors. Finally, it is argued that although the existence of a large Haitian Diaspora was influential in creating a climate open to the adoption of special measures for Haitians, the Haitian Diaspora did not necessarily influence the specifics of the measures adopted to a significant degree.