Canada, Cuba and the Americas
By Peter McKenna
From The Chronicle Herald (Canada)
In the wake of the recent Summit of the Americas in Colombia and his official visit to Chile, Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to seriously reassess his position on Cuba (which requested participation at the inter-American gathering) and re-set the Canadian-Latin American relationship.
We can’t, on the one hand, criticize the U.S. government for a failed Cuba policy (after 50 years of ineffective economic sanctions) and then side with the Americans on excluding Havana from the Americas Summit process. Additionally, we should not forget that Cuba punches well above its weight within the wider region.
Notwithstanding recent comments by former Cuban president Fidel Castro, who castigated Harper for the actions of Canadian mining companies that exploit struggling communities in many Latin American countries, the Canadian government should seek to strengthen its relationship with Havana.
Diane Ablonczy, minister of state for foreign affairs (and consular services), has already done some important work in this area. She has properly recognized that there are huge opportunities for Canada and Cuba to work constructively together on a wide range of issues, including trade, tourism, energy and people-to-people contacts.
The next step is for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to undertake an official visit to Havana in the coming months. That, of course, would set the stage for a prime ministerial visit to Cuba – or a visit by a senior-ranking Cuban government official (Raúl Castro?) to Ottawa in the near term.
But as former prime minister Jean Chretien found out during his own April 1998 visit to Cuba, it makes no sense to press the Cubans hard on the human-rights front or to attach certain conditions to a continued warming in bilateral relations.
Yes, we should raise the issue of democratization and respect for political rights and freedoms, but if we hope to influence them here, we should do so in a respectful and non-accusatory manner (and without pre-conditions).
Canada could also earn some diplomatic credit with its Cuban friends (and build stronger linkages with the Argentines, Brazilians and Mexicans) by pushing U.S. President Barack Obama to veto an anti-Cuba bill passed by the Florida state legislature in March.
The offending legislation was sponsored by Miami Republican lawmakers determined to punish the Cubans by restricting state and local governments from signing procurement contracts with any companies (including Canadian ones) that do business with Cuba (and Syria). Both of these countries still remain on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The point is not only to prevent Florida taxpayers from supporting companies that have commercial relations with Havana, but to keep those same companies from operating and investing in Cuba. It’s about “internationalizing” the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba – which has always been seen in Washington as the key instrument for removing the Castros from power.
For one thing, Harper could explain to Obama that the constitutionality of such a bill (which still awaits the signature of the governor) is seriously in doubt, since only the federal government (and Congress) in Washington has the legislative competence to conduct foreign policy (and impose sanctions).
Moreover, he could also point out that a similar law in Massachusetts – which sought to limit state businesses from dealing with companies inking commercial deals with rights-abusing Myanmar – was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.
Canada, then, could enhance its position and prestige in the hemisphere by standing up to the Americans on Cuba. Accordingly, it should seek Cuba’s presence at the next Americas Summit, should there be one in Panama.
While most of what Fidel Castro said in early April can be ignored, he was right about highlighting the constructive engagement approach of former Canadian prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien toward Cuba.
In fact, we need to jettison the ideologically tinged rhetoric of the Harperites and focus on positive interaction, co-operative dialogue and commercial exchange.
To be sure, one of the keys to Canada opening up the door to wider and deeper relations with the Americas has to involve Cuba. Taking up the question of Cuba’s importance in the region is a good place for Stephen Harper to begin.
Peter McKenna is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island and the editor of the forthcoming book, Canada Looks South: In Search of an America’s Strategy.
