US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1676

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 001676 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, ETTC, PREL, CU, CA 
SUBJECT: CANADA: REVIEW FOR TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT 
 
REF: STATE 096300 
 
Classified By: POL M/C Brian Flora for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
1.  (U) Poloff met with Louise Branch, Deputy Director of the 
Caribbean and Central America Division at Foreign Affairs 
Canada (FAC), and Ghislain Chaput, FAC Desk Officer for Cuba, 
on May 25, to discuss recent Government of Canada policies 
and actions to advance democracy, human rights, and 
fundamental freedoms in Cuba.   After a general discussion of 
the LIBERTAD Act, Branch emphasized that the Government of 
Canada (GoC) continued to oppose the Title III stipulations, 
stating in general that it was extraterritorial in nature, 
and in particular that it disadvantaged Canadian companies 
seeking to do business in Cuba.  Branch said that she was 
aware of a "handful" of Canadian companies that chose not to 
conduct business in Cuba, mindful of the potential litigation 
that could result from implementation of Title III. 
 
2.  (SBU) Cuba is Canada's largest export market in the 
Caribbean and its fifth largest in Latin America, with 
exports totaling CDN $322 million (approximately USD $258 
million) in 2004.  Canada is Cuba's second largest source of 
foreign investment, after Spain, and as of the end of 2003 
(most recent data available), there were 52 Canadian joint 
ventures established in Cuba.  According to the Canadian 
Embassy in Havana, Cuba is an emerging market with some 
potential for Canadian exporters and investors, but that "the 
attractiveness of opportunities is tempered by the continuing 
U.S. embargo of Cuba and by U.S. legislation that attempts to 
impose American laws on companies from other countries."  The 
GoC has enacted amendments to its Foreign Extraterritorial 
Measures Act, which attempt to counteract U.S. laws by 
enabling a "clawback" of any losses awarded in U.S. courts 
that is enforceable against American assets in Canada. 
 
3.  (C)  Branch stated that while Cuba remained a significant 
trading partner for Canada, the level of trade has dropped in 
recent years.  In large part, she attributed this loss of 
market share to American companies that are now able to trade 
directly with Cuba; the Canadian Embassy in Havana reports 
that since 2001, Cuba has bought close to CDN 1 billion (USD 
$800 million) in agricultural products from U.S. exporters. 
(COMMENT:  According to Branch, FAC finds it somewhat ironic 
that the USG reviews how other countries are conducting trade 
with Cuba, at the same time that U.S. companies are doing 
business there.  END COMMENT.)  Branch did note, however, the 
recent agreement that will reopen the Cuba market to Canadian 
live cattle exports; Cuba had banned Canadian cattle imports 
following the discovery of BSE in Canada in May 2003. 
 
4.  (SBU) Cuba is also a major tourist destination for 
Canadian citizens.  In 2004, Cuba ranked as the 5th most 
popular destination for Canadians (after the United States, 
United Kingdom, Mexico and France), with 570,000 visits, an 
increase of 15.3 percent from the year before.  In 2003 (most 
recent data available), Canadian tourists spent CDN $451 
million (approximately USD $361 million) in Cuba. 
 
5.  (C)  Notwithstanding the economic ties between Canada and 
Cuba, Branch stated that the GoC remains committed to 
effecting positive change in Cuba, and continues to believe 
that its policy of engagement remains the best mechanism to 
influence the Cuban Government on human rights and democratic 
development.  She referred to an April visit to Ottawa by 
Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafael Duasa as an 
example of how the GoC presses Havana on its human rights 
record; although the visit was ostensibly in celebration of 
the 60th anniversary of Canadian-Cuban diplomatic relations, 
Branch said that FAC raised human rights issues with Duasa, 
including the status of dissidents who continue to be 
imprisoned in Cuba. 
 
6.  (C) Branch also cited the work of the Canadian 
International Development Agency as an example of Canada 
advancing fundamental freedoms at the grass-roots level of 
Canadian society.  In addition, she stated that the GoC 
continues to engage in "quiet diplomacy" through meetings and 
other contacts with dissidents in Cuba, something that FAC 
does not publicize, given Ottawa's concerns about the safety 
and welfare of the dissident community.   Finally, Branch 
mentioned that Canada had co-sponsored a U.S. resolution 
introduced at the most recent UNCHR session in Geneva that 
condemned the human rights record of the Castro regime. 
 
7.  (C)  COMMENT.  Based on Canada's strong and long-standing 
record on international human rights issues, and its 
commitment in seeking change of the state of human rights in 
Cuba, both bilaterally and through multilateral forums such 
as the UNCHR, post recommends a continued waiver of Title III 
of the LIBERTAD Act. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
GALLAGHER