Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said on Tuesday that Canada was ready to help Haiti after a major earthquake hit the small island country.

Cannon told a press conference that Canada is offering its condolences to all those affected by this disaster, and Canada "is monitoring the situation very closely."

"We have close ties to Haiti, so we obviously stand ready to assist them," Cannon said, citing Haiti as the second largest recipient of humanitarian aid from Canada.

According to CBC News, government officials were considering whether to send to Haiti its 200-strong Disaster Assistance Response Team, which provides help to areas affected by disaster for up to 40 days.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which struck at 4:53 PM local time (2153 GMT), was followed by a tsunami and at least 13 aftershocks.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2010)