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| The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs)
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01/08/12 - CTV (Canada)
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA The Conservative minister for
Latin America is softening some of the Harper government's previous tough talk
on Cuba.
This week, Diane Ablonczy, the junior foreign
minister for the Americas, visits the communist Caribbean island -- which, at
135 kilometres from the southern tip of Florida, is both the closest sworn enemy
of the United States and the favoured vacation choice of a million sun-seeking
Canadians each year.
Ablonczy praises the ongoing economic reforms
that Cuban President Raul Castro has instituted -- opening up private property
ownership, new opportunity to hold select private sector jobs, the right to
sell a used car -- since he took over the country from his legendary and ailing
brother, Fidel, almost four years ago.
"We see a very significant process of
economic reform and liberalization in Cuba," Ablonczy told The Canadian
Press in a pre-trip interview.
Ablonczy does not necessarily believe this
will lead to greater democratic freedoms any time soon in a country where the
government exerts Soviet-era control over its 11 million citizens.
"Political change is not what Cuban
leadership has in mind," she said.
"There's a lot of debate around these
things and there's a lot of caution too. But Canada, as an investor in Cuba,
with lots of people-to-people contact, wants to play as positive and constructive
role as possible."
Ablonczy said Canada stands ready to share
experiences and best practices "as Cuba moves forward, very gradually,
towards some needed changes and modernization."
Her comments are a marked departure from the
language employed by one of her predecessors in the portfolio, Peter Kent, who
publicly chided the Castro regime on its human rights record almost three years
ago.
His comments prompted Havana to rescind an
invitation to visit in the spring of 2009. Kent eventually travelled to Cuba in
late 2009, and he reported a successful visit that included discussions on
trade and human rights.
Cuba is Canada's largest market in the
Caribbean and Central American region, with two-way trade topping $1 billion in
2010. A Canadian oil and gas company, Sherritt International, is the largest
foreign investor in Cuba.
Ablonczy, who has travelled widely in the
region since her appointment last May, said she wants to form meaningful
working relationships with her Cuban counterparts.
She said it's important to be very respectful
of her hosts and "what they want to achieve and their own goals and
objectives."
A leading voice in Canada's non-governmental
agency community agreed there is opportunity for the government to have a
meaningful impact on reform in Cuba.
Robert Fox, head of Oxfam Canada, recently
concluded his own working tour of projects in Cuba and said there is good
progress being made in municipal governance and in opening up the farming
sector to more local participation.
That might not sound like much, but both are
significant developments in Cuba, where the Castro regime allows no political
dissent and virtually no capitalism.
Municipal councils are meeting and coming up
with ideas on how they want to live in their communities, within the
constraints of the central government's edicts, said Fox.
"In a country like Cuba, a
decentralizing dynamic is also a democratizing dynamic."
Meanwhile, Cuban farmers are working on ways to
grow and sell local products locally -- a significant step in a country that,
despite massive swaths of fertile countryside, still imports most of its food.
Canada continues to be seen in a positive way
in Cuba. Canada has never conditioned its aid to Cuba. Cubans are very aware
that there are a million Canadians who come to their country every year,"
said Fox.
"When we look to the changes in Cuba in terms
of opening up to local markets and opening up to global markets, when we look
to women's leadership and gender equality, when we look to municipal
governments and local authorities, when we look to the co-op movement -- which
are all areas that Cubans are taking to a new level -- those are all areas
where Canada has huge strengths, huge capacity."
Canadian embassy diplomats in Havana expressed
interest to Fox about strengthening municipal authorities and the agricultural
sector.
Ablonczy said Canada does have expertise to offer
in those areas but she said she would wait to see what topics her Cuban hosts
raise with her.
Canada, she said, does not have all the answers and
won't "take a lecturing approach."
Ablonczy is expected to have meetings with Cuba's
ministers for foreign affairs, trade and tourism, as well as paying visits to
Canadian-funded aid projects. She will also visit Panama and Guatemala in the
coming week as well.
Overall, Ablonczy is a staunch defender of her
government's efforts to open up economic opportunities throughout the region,
even if it means trading and doing business with governments that have
less-than-stellar rights records.
She said engagement can contribute to
"important human rights advancement in these countries, providing the
economic opportunity that is often key for people breaking free from tyranny
and oppression...
"We've taken a very strong stand on
wanting to be an active and positive force while being very clear about our
concerns and our desire to see human rights continually addressed and advanced
in all countries, including our own."
