A Haitian-Canadian Mountie who carried the flag at the Olympic opening ceremonies says he hopes to return to Haiti on a peacekeeping tour.
“I want to show them (Haitians) what you can become in Canada,” said Const. Rodzor Jean-Baptiste.
He immigrated to Canada in 2003 with the dream of working for the RCMP and the notion that it wasn’t possible. Three years later he was accepted as a recruit.
On Jan. 31 Jean-Baptiste was invited to be part of the Guard that would carry the flag into B.C. Place.
“My family still can’t believe it,” he said. “I kept thinking, my God, is it really me in Canada, carrying the flag, a Mountie. I wanted to cry.”
Jean-Baptiste’s wife was in Haiti visiting family when an earthquake laid the island barren on Jan. 12. She survived, but Jean-Baptiste’s brother and aunt were killed.
