Cuba and Canada maintained ties all through the 54 years of the U.S. embargo. Canada is an important foreign relationship for the island nation. Fully one third of the 3 million tourists that visit annually come from Canada, and the business interests have made significant contributions.
“from the Cuban point-of-view… a victory because they obtained that reopening of relations without giving up anything.”
Claude Morin taught Latin American history at l’Universite de Montreal. Retired now, he spent many months in Cuba, over the course of 15 or 16 trips to the island, renowned for its beautiful beaches. Professor Morin observed the evolution.
ListenHe says the raising of flags on the two embassies is big change, that a new chapter has been opened. He says it is a major shift in U.S.policy toward Cuba. “It can be considered from the Cuban point-of-view as a victory because they obtained that reopening of relations without giving up anything.”
As far as reparations for American companies and people who lost property in the revolution, Morin says the re-unification of Germany, when those who fled the East, were compensated, may serve as a model.
Claude Morin does not foresee the embargo being lifted in 2015, but he says it will be lifted eventually, as two-thirds of the American public want it to be lifted, according to several polls and surveys. He acknowledges, however, that the outcome of next U.S. election, will play a role in the proceedings.
Morin says Canadian companies in fields such as mining, hotels and healthcare have been active in Cuba for many years. It was Canadian money and expertise, through CIDA, that upgraded Havana’s International airport.
Claude Morin says American tourists will not be allowed to visit this coming winter, as the embargo, and the strict conditions for American visits still stand, but he says the tourist industry will be a sector in for a huge overhaul as the facilities to welcome the influx of American guests in the future, will have to be built.
The next step in the reconciliation process will be the visit of Secretary of State, John Kerry, to officially open the embassy.
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