Aligns itself with U.S. for Quebec summit
Ian Jack.National
Post . Canada, March 16, 2001.
OTTAWA - The Canadian government lined up behind the United States yesterday
on the issue of Cuba's presence at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City,
saying firmly the one-party state has no place at the table.
"Not at the present time," John Manley, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, said when asked if Canada believed Cuba should be allowed to come to
next month's summit. "There hasn't been any demonstration of an acceptance
of democratic standards," he told the Commons foreign affairs committee.
The statement represents a change from the comments of Jean Chrétien
two years ago in Santiago, Chile, when he said Cuba should be welcomed into the
"gran familia" of the Americas.
More recently, Ottawa's attitude toward Cuba has cooled, most notably after
the government of Fidel Castro threw dissidents into jail days after a 1999
visit by Mr. Chrétien. Lloyd Axworthy, foreign minister at the time,
indicated Canada would rethink its push to have Cuba included in the
Organization of American States and Ottawa has since held the position there is
no consensus among the other 34 countries of the Americas to invite Cuba.
Mr. Manley's comments go further, saying Canada does not want Cuba to come
to Quebec City. Caribbean countries recently called for Cuba to be invited to
the summit, which will discuss hemispheric free trade.
Svend Robinson, NDP foreign affairs critic, said the change represents a
diminution of Canada's independent line toward Cuba.
"Why is it we're allowing the United States to call the shots?" he
asked.
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