Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 24th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Colleagues, I call this meeting to order. Welcome to meeting number 23 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the committee is meeting on the humanitarian situation in Cuba.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. The members can participate in person or remotely through the Zoom application.

Before we continue, I'd like to ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, especially the interpreters. You will also notice a QR code on the card, which links to a short awareness video.

I'd also like to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses and members. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic, and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can make the selection for the appropriate channel for interpretation. You may choose floor, English or French. For those in the room, you can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.

I remind everyone that all comments should be addressed through the chair.

I would now like to welcome our witnesses for the first hour of this meeting.

From the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Mark Richardson, director general, Central America and Caribbean bureau; Sébastien Beaulieu, director general, international emergency and travel advice bureau; Carolyn Knobel, executive director, Central America, Cuba and Dominican Republic integrated division; and Tara Carney, director, international humanitarian assistance division.

You will have up to five minutes for opening remarks.

I now invite Mr. Richardson to make an opening statement.

[Mark Richardson, Director General, Central America and Caribbean Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members.

As the chair said, my name is Mark Richardson. I'm joined today by my colleagues, Carolyn Knobel, Sébastien Beaulieu and Tara Carney. We're all Global Affairs Canada officials.

Global Affairs Canada is closely monitoring the situation in Cuba and is paying particular attention to two priorities. These priorities are the safety of Canadians on the island and the impact of the current crisis on the people of Cuba, especially the most vulnerable people.

Remember that, on February 5, the Cuban president declared a national state of emergency. In the days that followed, the Cuban government announced a series of emergency measures designed to prioritize essential services. Shortly afterwards, on February 9, in response to a warning from Cuban authorities that jet fuel would no longer be available at the country's international airports until at least March 11, all Canadian airlines announced their decision to suspend flights to Cuba. Since then, over 28,000 Canadians have already returned home. The process has gone smoothly, with no major consular concerns. All Canadians who wanted to return home could do so on flights provided by Canadian airlines.

Cuba's energy crisis has led to widespread power outages, with rolling blackouts disrupting essential services and further constraining economic activity. We remain deeply concerned about worsening conditions on the island and the toll these pressures are taking on Cubans across the country, particularly those in vulnerable situations.

For more than five decades, Canada has been delivering international co-operation in Cuba. Last fiscal year, Canada provided $8.3 million in development assistance, positioning Canada among Cuba's leading western donors. Canada also has a history of providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to Cuba following acute crises. As recently as October 2025, Canada provided more than $3 million in immediate humanitarian assistance following hurricane Melissa.

Currently, humanitarian partners are developing plans to scale up assistance in response to the current crisis, and we are in active and regular contact with them to determine how we can best assist Cuba's most vulnerable. As Minister Leblanc stated last week and Minister Anand confirmed yesterday and today, as I understand it, the federal government is ready to support humanitarian assistance efforts in Cuba, and we are preparing a plan to do so.

The current crisis is in part due to Cuba's heavy dependence on imported fuel. In recent years, Cuba has faced persistent challenges in securing reliable oil and fuel supplies because of long-standing trade and economic restrictions. As we know, these pressures intensified following recent measures by the United States, including the January 29 executive order, which threatens to impose tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba. The U.S. government has publicly stated that it is seeking to reach an agreement with the Government of Cuba that would lead to profound and far-reaching reforms, including expanding the privatization of the Cuban economy and driving meaningful political change.

While Cuba's current economic crisis is the result of a combination of factors, including long-standing internal inefficiencies stemming from Cuba's rigid, centralized economic model, the U.S. embargo continues to have a significant impact on Cuba's economy.

Canada has maintained ongoing diplomatic relations with Cuba for 80 years. We pursue an open dialogue with the Cuban government. In our discussions, we regularly raise concerns about the lack of political freedoms and the detention of political prisoners. During this difficult period of uncertainty, Canada remains committed to constructively engaging with Cuba and to directly supporting the Cuban people, especially the most vulnerable people.

We'll be happy to answer any questions from committee members.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you for your remarks.

We now turn to questions from the floor, beginning with MP Rood.

You have six minutes.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for being here today on this important topic.

Through you, Chair, what I'm wondering is this: Given the severe humanitarian suffering in Cuba, why is Canada not ensuring humanitarian aid is delivered directly to the people, bypassing the government entirely, and publicly calling for an end to the totalitarian system that created this crisis in the first place?

[Mark Richardson]

Thank you, Chair, for the committee member's question.

Canada has a long-standing practice in Cuba, and in other countries, of working through international humanitarian partners to deliver assistance, and that continues to be our practice in Cuba at this time.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Can you tell us how much Canadian taxpayer money has been spent since 2020 on embassy operations, consular services and international assistance in Cuba? Does the department believe that it is responsible to continue spending Canadian tax dollars to prop up diplomatic infrastructure in a country whose government is actively allied with adversaries that are currently targeting Canadian interests?

[Mark Richardson]

I don't have the exact figures on how much our embassy operations cost on a year-to-year basis. However, I can say that, over the last seven years, we have provided, on average, $6.5 million in development assistance to the Cuban people through our international humanitarian partner agencies.

On the question about diplomatic presence, we have traditionally maintained one in Cuba because of our long-standing relationship with the country. We have been committed to having an open dialogue with them, with a view to promoting co-operation, collaboration, trade and investment ties, and people-to-people ties. We also have frank and honest conversations in areas in which we don't see eye to eye, such as human rights practices and international alignment with other state actors, such as Nicaragua—previously, it was Venezuela—Russia and China.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Given that Cuba remains a one-party dictatorship that jails dissidents, restricts basic freedoms and partners with regimes that are hostile to Canada—Russia and China, as you mentioned, as well as Iran—why is the Government of Canada still providing any taxpayer-funded assistance and maintaining full diplomatic relations, rather than downgrading ties and directing all support exclusively to the Cuban people through independent civil society and faith-based organizations?

[Mark Richardson]

As I stated previously, we continue to support the Cuban people through a variety of humanitarian assistance organizations, particularly UN agencies and other international NGOs—including Canadian NGOs—that have a presence there.

Part of why we maintain a presence there is the act of people-to-people ties. Cuba is one of the countries in the Caribbean region and Central America that has the most tourists on an annual basis. Last year, our figures showed that approximately 700,000 Canadian tourists visited the island. The year before that, it was, I believe, 800,000. It's necessary for us to maintain an active diplomatic presence there.

Also, I would note that Canada has an active commercial relationship with Cuba—a total of about $1 billion in trade on an annual basis. Canadian companies have investments in the country. Hence, we continue to maintain a diplomatic presence in order to assist Canadians on the private side as tourists and in terms of their business interests.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Rather than continuing the failed policy of quiet diplomacy that has, quite frankly, achieved nothing for the Cuban people in decades, has the department recommended that any future assistance or trade preferences be made through concrete, verifiable steps towards free and fair multi-party elections and the immediate release of all political prisoners?

[Mark Richardson]

We have certainly raised, time and again, our concerns with our Cuban counterparts related to human rights, particularly political prisoners and their treatment. We have also raised concerns with regard to democratic governance and the transparency of institutions. I can say that we raise these things regularly with our Cuban counterparts.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

The Cuban government receives support from Russia—including for the alleged recruitment of Cubans for its war in Ukraine—from China, through belt and road-style arrangements, and from Iran.

How does continued Canadian engagement with Havana not undermine Canada's own national security and sanctions policies against these same hostile actors?

[Mark Richardson]

Again, I would go back to conversations about our desire to have an open and frank dialogue with the Cuban government. We seek to build constructive ties between our countries and to influence their democratic governance to the best of our abilities.

We have found a number of areas in which we are aligned in terms of human rights policies, gender equity initiatives, LGBTQI+ rights and the treatment of people.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next, we'll go to—

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Chair, can I ask that they table the figures of spending on operations by the embassy since 2020? They weren't able to provide that.

If you could table that, I'd appreciate it. That was my second question.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you.

We'll go next to MP Steven Guilbeault.

You have six minutes.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank all our guests for joining us.

Mr. Richardson, I would like you to explain the purpose of international humanitarian assistance. Is the goal to support people in difficulty in different parts of the world, or to help change political regimes in different countries?

[Mark Richardson]

Currently, the main objective of our humanitarian assistance in Cuba is to support the Cuban people. We're focusing on areas such as renewable energy, nutrition, food security and empowering women entrepreneurs, but we're also helping in other areas.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I think that you said, in response to a question, that between 700,000 and 800,000 Canadians visit Cuba each year. I think that about 5,000 Canadians are living permanently in Cuba.

Is Canada in the habit of not providing consular services when so many Canadians live in or visit a country?

[Mark Richardson]

I would like to invite my colleague, Sébastien Beaulieu, to answer this question.

[Sébastien Beaulieu, Director General, International Emergency and Travel Advice Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

A Canadian embassy or consular presence on the ground is helpful in a time of crisis, but also at any time. It helps travellers visiting from abroad with lost passports or immigration and visa issues, as well as with more serious matters such as imprisonment, loss and theft or an incident requiring hospitalization. It's always helpful to have a presence on the ground to support Canadians, and people appreciate it.

In the case of Cuba, the figures speak for themselves and are quite significant.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you.

We're hearing a great deal about the humanitarian crisis. I would like to hear comments from one of you regarding the humanitarian crisis. You could talk about food, medicine or fuel and how Global Affairs Canada is monitoring the humanitarian crisis in Cuba.

[Mark Richardson]

We're closely monitoring developments in the crisis, especially through our conversations with our humanitarian partners on the ground and our officers working at the embassy.

I'll give the floor to my colleague, Tara Carney, so that she can provide further explanations.

[Tara Carney, Director, International Humanitarian Assistance Division, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Thank you for that.

On the humanitarian crisis, there are certainly a large number of vulnerable populations in Cuba. The humanitarian crisis prior to this point had been focused on natural disaster response. They don't have a protracted humanitarian crisis, though there is significant vulnerability in the country.

Right now, as Mr. Richardson said, we are working very closely with partners who are engaging to try to understand the changing needs, as the energy crisis has the potential to impact and bring more people into a humanitarian level of need. The first sectors that are likely to be impacted, should there continue to be a lack of fuel, will be sectors such as health, which relies heavily on fuel; water and sanitation, which requires energy, particularly for the water pumping; and the food security sector, simply because of food availability, food prices and transit of foodstuffs.

Those are the areas that we are watching closely with and via our partners at this time.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chair?