The 70th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Cuba and Canada will be celebrated this June 26 with a concert in Havana’s Plaza Vieja at 7:00 p.m, featuring the renowned Canadian group, Sam Roberts Band and singer-songwriter Carlos Varela, known for classics such as “Monedas al aire” and “Como los peces.” Regarding this important date, Granma spoke with Canadian Ambassador to Cuba, Yves Gagnon, who also referred to the meeting between the Prime Minister of his country, Stephen Harper, and Cuban President Raúl Castro, Cuba's participation in the forthcoming Pan American Games in Toronto, and the large numbers of Canadian tourists traveling to the island, among other topics.
—How would you describe these 70 years of relations between Cuba and Canada?
—In historic terms, it’s a relatively short time, because 70 years, when it comes to relations between two countries, is not that long. But for young nations like ours, in the Americas, it’s quite a while. In the case of Canada, relations with Cuba were officially established in 1945. It was the first embassy we opened in Latin America.
This means that ever since then the role of Havana as very important within the context of the Caribbean and Latin America was appreciated. It is a young relationship on the one hand, yet a very mature one on the other. The important thing is that we have never changed our role when it comes to the relationship with Cuba. We believe that all countries, including ours, have the responsibility to progress as they wish and for this reason we have always maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba, without pause, and only Mexico has done the same in the Americas. We are very proud of what we have done together. Nothing spectacular but very stable, solid and we continue to advance as such respectfully.
—During the recent Summit of the Americas, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Cuban President Raúl Castro. How would you assess that meeting? Can we expect a visit to Cuba by the Canadian Prime Minister in the near future?
—It was very important for our political leaders to meet and talk. On the other hand, the electoral agenda of our countries is complicated in terms of managing international relations. We will have general elections in the coming months, probably in October. So I do not think we're going to have high-level visits from Canada to Cuba in the upcoming months, due to the election campaign. It’s just down to Canadian politics.
—How do you rate the participation of your country in regards to the news of the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and United States given that several of the negotiation meetings took place in Canadian cities?
—You could say that our contribution has been what Canadians like to term, to facilitate. It was a modest contribution but occasionally had a decisive impact. Canada is very pleased, not so much to have helped with the talks, but due to their being successful, as both the Cuban and the U.S. Presidents described them. For us, we who have always opted for talks and meetings, finally we see the success of dialogue prevailing and I hope this will produce more positive results.
—Canada currently tops the list of visitors to Cuba. To what extent do you think this record high can be increased?
—Cuba is in competition with its neighbors. I know that countries like the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands offer very attractive tourism products and Cuba has to deal with this context. But it is clear that Canadians enjoy their stays in Cuba and I know that there is a high percentage who decides to return after traveling to the island for the first time. Perhaps this is the most important way to measure a country's tourism product. I do not know for how long it will remain so, but Canadians like Cuba. It seems to me that with the investments being made by the Cuban authorities, to robustly expand the tourism sector, we should continue to expect more Canadian visitors.
—As you point out Canada and Cuba have maintained very good relations during these 70 years. How do you believe that this exchange could be increased on a larger scale?
—There is a process of expanding the diversity of contacts. I believe we can learn from the Cuban experience in health, sports and management of certain parts of the public sector, for which Cuba has become renowned in the world. We generally always have in mind the intention of learning something in our exchanges with other countries. On the other hand, there are also many people who are interested in studying what we do and for us it is the same. It seems to me that there is a process of exchange between Canadians and Cubans and this is an important factor for enrichment.
—The Canadian music scene, especially that of rock, is very strong. What motivated the choice of Sam Roberts Band and Carlos Varela to celebrate 70 years of relations between the two countries?
—Sam Roberts Band is one of the most famous bands in Canada today. So we are incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to hear them here. I hope that Cubans especially enjoy it. This is possible thanks to the exemplary cooperation of the (Havana) City Historian Eusebio Leal and his team, and Canadian companies that have significant interests in Cuba, such as Sherritt and Terecam. MINTUR and MINREX have also helped us a lot. We will be marking our national day in this way, hoping that the Cuban public gathers to celebrate these 70 years of diplomatic relations. Cuban star Carlos Varela, who has many followers in Canada, will also perform. We are talking about a rather unique celebration.
—Cuba and Canada, as you explained, are two countries that have maintained cordial and respectful relations during these past seven decades. How then do you view the future of this exchange?
—We are good neighbors, very respectful and we know each other better all the time. Our role for the future is this: to make sure that our relations are factors for peace and security so that our people can enjoy our artists and do business when this is good for both sides. We also work in many sectors of human activity. For example, I just got back from a trip to Guantanamo, where I visited some agricultural cooperatives, benefiting from the contribution of Canadians. The Cuban government is studying our management of cooperatives as we are a country where the cooperative movement is highly developed and has been very successful historically. Thus Cuba is studying what aspects of this can be tailored to its particular experience.
“We also maintain very active and very rich relations between Cuban and Canadian universities. We were recently at the University of Holguin where an annual meeting of university students in the province and from Canada was held and there were over one hundred students from my country who came specifically to attend this event and that impressed me a lot. Without doubt both our governments are doing many things for the future that will strengthen relations between our countries.”
—The Pan American Games will soon begin. How do you expect the Canadian public to receive the Cuban athletes?
—What seems clear is that we are ready. Everything is well prepared and we will see competitions being held for the first time such as the women's baseball. I believe that not only athletes, but also Cuban artists will find an impressive space in the context of the Games. There will be many Cuban artists featuring at the opening and closing ceremonies. There are Pan Am competitions that are of the same level as the Olympics and there are many sports in which the winners of the gold medal could set a new Olympic record. The last time we acted as host was for the winter games of 2011. However, when a country is hosting its athletes are even more enthusiastic so we should expect an exemplary contribution from the Canadians
