PM criticized in Embassy magazine for squandering Canada's Cuban advantage

Two academics, writing in the latest issue of Embassy magazine, have severely criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government for allowing Canada's relationship with Cuba to deteriorate. In the article, "Our Disappearing Cuba Advantage", coming as it did just before the announcement of a slight thaw in U.S. attitudes to Cuba, Dalhousie University's John Kirk and University of P.E.I.'s Peter McKenna lamented:

"Canadian policy toward Cuba is now mimicking a failed approach of the Bush years -- precisely when the Obama administration is initiating a more moderate Cuba policy."

The article notes that Ottawa failed to protest that Canadians can't use their Mastercards in Cuba because those accounts are owned now by Bank of America, which is subject to U.S. law governing the Cuban boycott. And how, following the recent hurrican, Canada offered $1 million in aid -- less than Algeria and Namibia.

"The Canadian government's approach is out of sync. ... If the Harper government does not revitalize our engagement policy with Cuba, Canada faces the very real prospect of jeopardizing its long-standing bilateral advantages and leaving its hemispheric interests in tatters."

[Via Vancouver Sun]