A two-day Red Cross conference on the humanitarian response in Haiti began Tuesday in Montreal.

The summit, which included Red Cross groups from 27 countries, is intended for the International Red Cross Movement and Haitian Red Cross to establish a humanitarian plan of action.

The groups aim to to set priorities in the short, medium and long term following the devastating earthquake last month.

"Now is the time to also start thinking about how they are going to move forward. We know that in Haiti the rainy season will start very soon, and as well, there are many, many discussions happening about rebuilding Haiti," said Bev Oda, Canada's minister of international cooperation, at the conference.

So far, more than $116 million has been donated by Canadian individuals since the earthquake. That number has been matched by the Canadian government.

About $96 million in individual, corporate and government donations have gone so far to the Canadian Red Cross, which has distributed $20 million of that for tents, water, medical supplies, personnel and a joint field hospital in Haiti. The organization will determine when and how to spend other donations after a needs assessment at this summit.

"We expect that shelter is something that we'll work on closely, and we expect that water, food and sanitation is something that we'll work on closely and we'll continue to look at the needs and work with the Haitian Red Cross.