Hon. Judy A. White: Honourable senators, I rise today to reflect positively on the long-standing relationship between Canada and Cuba.
As we speak, Cuba is facing severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and electricity. Hospitals struggle to maintain basic services. Families endure prolonged blackouts. Essential goods are rationed. Sanitation services and basic public infrastructure have been severely disrupted.
The increasingly limited access to essential supplies has placed additional pressure on families. These growing hardships have caused unimaginable suffering for seniors, children and individuals with chronic health conditions.
The contributing factors are complex and include structural economic vulnerabilities, global supply chain disruptions and limited access to international financing. With decades of U.S. embargoes and the most recent measure to block oil from entering the country, the situation has worsened.
The United Nations has warned that Cuba could face a humanitarian collapse, with millions suffering if basic fuel needs are not met. Francisco Pichon, the most senior United Nations official in Cuba, described, “. . . a mix of resilience, but also grief, sorrow and indignation, and some concern about the regional developments.”
Canada has maintained uninterrupted diplomatic relations with Cuba since 1945. Over the last eight decades — 80 years — our two countries have fostered a relationship built on dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation, even during times of global change and uncertainty. We are one of Cuba’s long-standing trading partners and a significant source of tourism and investment. Nearly 1 million Canadians visit Cuba every year, and our countries have significant commercial and cultural ties.
In this period of extraordinary hardship, Canada must stand in solidarity with the Cuban people. Now is our time to work with multilateral partners, such as the United Nations and the World Food Programme, to ensure that aid reaches vulnerable populations and essential services are stabilized. This moment is not about choosing sides in ideological debates. It is about choosing humanity. At its core, this issue is about people and families seeking stability and basic needs and seizing the opportunity to move forward with dignity.
Canada’s role should remain grounded in humanitarian principles, constructive engagement, open dialogue and a focus on practical solutions.
Thank you, Your Excellency, for being here. Wela’lin. Thank you.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.