Cuba expert says Harper 'missed the boat' on Latin America

Dr. John Kirk, a Dalhousie professor who has studied Canada-Cuba relations for 20 years, says the Harper government's alignment with Bush has worsened Canada's relations with Latin America

The 2007 May Day Parade in Havana, Cuba. (Photo: John Kirk)

According to John Kirk, the federal government needs to stop riding the Bush administration’s coattails when it comes to foreign policy.

A professor in the Spanish department at Dalhousie University, Kirk has dedicated 20 years of his academic life to studying the evolution of the relationship between Canada and Cuba.

He has also worked as an interpreter for former Premier John Savage in meetings with President Fidel Castro, as well as with Che Guevara’s daughter Aleida, Novel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Chilean musical groups Inti Illimani and Quilapayun, and Mexican presidential candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas.  He is currently working on two book projects – a textbook on the Cuban revolution and a study of Cuban medical internationalism.

Kirk is not impressed with the turn the relationship has taken since Stephen Harper first became prime minister of Canada.

“The relations during the Harper years have been very poor,” says Kirk. “I think because of the ideology of Stephen Harper.”

Kirk will speak about Canada-Cuba relations in the Lord Dalhousie Room at 1 p.m. today. All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be provided.

Kirk says that the Canadian government’s alliance with American foreign policy has been detrimental to Canada’s relationship with Latin America. Nine Latin American countries have elected socialist or social democratic governments in the last six years.

“So Latin America is moving to the left, basically as a rejection of the United States, that’s the first thing,” says Kirk. “U.S. credibility is in the toilet. It’s the worst it’s ever been because of the Bush administration’s policy toward the region. That’s the second thing.”

The final thing that Kirk cites as reason for Canada’s recent lull in evolving relations with Cuba is that Canadian foreign policy has been increasingly identified with that of the United States.

“So the end result is that we’re missing the boat in Latin America,” he says.

Prime Minister Harper has only been to Latin America on one occasion and the country he chose to visit was Colombia. Kirk says that this was a big mistake as Colombia is the country with the worst human rights record in the Western hemisphere, according to Amnesty International reports.

The U.S. Congress stopped President Bush from signing a free trade agreement with Colombia because of the human rights conditions. Canada signed it.

“Stephen Harper doesn’t understand what is happening in Latin America,” says Kirk.

Although the U.S foreign policy has been going downhill “at breakneck speed under Bush”, the potential election of Senator Barack Obama could turn that around. Obama has promised to turn around the policies regarding relations with Cuba 180 degrees.

Kirk says he isn’t sure what Harper will do in that case, but he isn’t optimistic.

“Obama has said that the policy with Latin America is disastrous and he plans to do an about face,” says Kirk. “This is happening at a time when Canada is pursuing the current U.S. channel. So not only are we pursuing a loser, we’re pursuing a loser when potentially a winner will go in the opposite direction. Canada’s policy regarding Latin America is dead wrong.”

Kirk believes Canada doesn’t understand the importance of Cuba within Latin America. As of now, Canada is fighting for third place in the major traders with Cuba. If Canada continues to neglect its relationship with the country, Kirk says Cuba will simply hold its breath and find other trading partners.

“Cuba recognizes that it can have great trading relationships with countries other than Canada,” says Kirk. “So for now, they’re just going through the motions with Canada, but saying, ‘don’t expect any initiatives.’”

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