On Wednesday the Canadian Defense Forces opened the Jacmel airport for 24-hour operations after clearing debris, installing a lighting system, and setting up a control tower. The local air traffic control is provided by the HMCS Halifax, a frigate, holding station just off the coast.

The 3,300-foot runway can accommodate C-130s and helicopters to reduce the traffic at the Port au Prince airport, which is 30 miles away.

What a piece of work the current Florida governor, Charlie Crist, is! The military has been transporting trauma patients from Haiti to hospitals in South Florida almost continuously from their initial arrival down there. Now the military has had to halt the Haiti medevacs because Charlie wants more money.

Charlie’s Homeland Security department has already pushed to stop flights into South Florida to ensure hospital space for Super Bowl casualties, and now he wants to Feds to guarantee to pick up the cost of all of the medical care Haitians will receive. [Please note, that I can’t remember a single case of this type when the Feds haven’t picked up the bill, often by passing a supplemental.]

A few things you need to know: Charlie is in a tough Republican primary race with Marco Rubio; Haitians tend to vote Democratic; and the for-profit hospitals, like HCA, would probably like a cut of the money to provide this care, without risking anything, like accidentally making a charitable donation.

While Charlie is attempting to blame the hospitals, he’s the one that started this. He doesn’t want Rubio to be able to attack him for spending state money on Haitians when Florida’s finances are in a mess. There’s no downside for attacking Haitians in a Republican primary.

The military isn’t going to move people based on a hope that someone will take them in – they need a firm destination.