Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 24th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

My understanding of the situation is close to the member's understanding. I would urge MP Rood to come back to the topic that was agreed to by all the members.

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

Mr. Chair, I can think of no greater concern than the oppressive actions that the socialist dictatorship imposes on its own people. I will go back to the question again. Your government claims to be willing to talk to the United States as equals, so if you can answer the question—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

I'm sorry. The dialogue between Cuba and the United States is out of scope. I'm happy to allow some room away from the core issue, which is humanitarian conditions, but the relationship and the dialogue, if it exists, between the United States and Cuba—you would agree, MP Rood—would not be under the topic, which is the humanitarian situation on the ground in Cuba. I would urge you to rephrase the question.

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

My question was not about the United States. It was whether the same willingness extends to allowing the Cuban people to speak freely, form opposition parties and vote in fair elections. That was my question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Okay.

Go ahead, Mr. Ambassador.

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

It's true that Cuba wants to speak as equals with the United States and with other countries. It is our right, I believe. We are an independent country. It's true that, in Cuba, we have only one political party. The thing is that, in the electoral system in Cuba—which, by the way, is quite similar to the Canadian one—parties don't nominate persons to be candidates. They are nominated by the people directly. The political party doesn't take part in this.

People in Cuba can speak freely, and they can express themselves freely. Actually, they do so normally in our system of democracy. The members of Parliament in Cuba are elected in constituencies, as they are in Canada. The new Parliament in assembly elects the head of government, who is not elected by a universal vote of the entire population. The members of Parliament serve for a period of five years, and the present assembly is the 10th legislature.

Every system has its virtues and defects. I do not believe that there is a perfect model that generally reflects the history and tradition of its country and its laws.

It is true that I respect your opinion. You can think differently from me on this, but in Cuba, campaigns do not involve expenses from the state budget or private sources. The candidates are elected or not, not through political propaganda but based on their merits before their voters.

Whoever wants to be a candidate can be one. It only needs the support of—

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

Thank you. My time is running out, Ambassador, and I have one final question before the end of my time.

Ambassador, Cuba has actively recruited its citizens, including civilians and members of its military and intelligence services, to fight for Russia in its illegal war against Ukraine. Does your government deny these reports—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

This was asked before as well. I let it slide then. It is out of scope. I think you would agree.

Of course, our collective—

[Tamara Kronis, Conservative, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

It's in the briefing notes as a suggested question for the ambassador.

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

Exactly. It's in the briefing notes as a suggested question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

It could be a suggested question, but the war in Ukraine is not—

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

It's in the official notes of the committee, and we are talking about humanitarian conditions. Given the day, I think it's a very valid question.

My question was, does your government deny these reports and, if not, how do you justify asking for aid while sending Cubans to die for Vladimir Putin's war of aggression? Canadian taxpayers would like to know that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

You can give a very brief answer, because of the time.

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

I tried to answer the question. I'm sorry if I extend myself in the answers, but I'm simply trying to meet with the interest of the honourable member.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

It's fine.

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

Cuba has a very clear position on the Ukrainian conflict, and we support a peace solution. We are not supporting any of the contenders. We are not giving money to Russia or to Ukraine. We are simply asking for peace, and this is our position in the United Nations and many other fora. We have defended this very clearly.

It's true that a few people, nationals of Cuba, have been identified as being involved. They are mercenaries. They are not members of the armed forces of Cuba, and we have denied very clearly being involved in any military actions in this war whatsoever.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next we will go to MP Steven Guilbeault. You have six minutes.

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

Ambassador, thank you for joining us.

The Cuban health care system has long been recognized as one of the best in Central and South America. Can you tell the committee about the current condition of the Cuban health care system?

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

Thank you very much for the question.

It's a very difficult situation. As I explained, the aim of these new measures against Cuba by the United States is to provoke a kind of humanitarian crisis. We are having problems not only with access to medicines and equipment but even the fuel needed to move patients to hospitals. There are thousands of people who need to have dialysis, for instance, because they are suffering from kidney problems, and we need to have transportation to take them to the hospital—not to talk about newborns and diabetic or cancer patients. It is really a very difficult situation.

You are right when you say that Cuba has a very good health system that gives access to everybody with no payments, like in Canada, and we are proud of it, but it's been sabotaged by the situation with the U.S. blockade. The energy blockade that has been in force the last few weeks is creating a very difficult situation in this regard.

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

Thank you, Ambassador.

We hear a great deal about the oil embargo, but does this embargo also affect other necessities, such as medicines to treat people?

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

The embargo, as you call it, is a real blockade. We have been suffering from it for 66 years. For example, during the COVID pandemic, we had problems with oxygen. The plant that produces oxygen in Cuba had a problem, and we tried to import oxygen. We had a lot of problems doing so because of the blockade, because it affects not only American companies but also companies from all over the world.

We tried to import so-called artificial lungs to treat patients, but we had to produce them in Cuba. We needed to create the prototype to do so, because there was no possibility at all to import them. Even for the vaccines against COVID, we had to develop our own. That's what the blockade means. That's what the blockade is trying to do, no matter what, whether it's health, education or food: “Let's try to affect them as much as we can and try to destroy them.”

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

Can you share with the committee the efforts made by your government and international partners to increase humanitarian assistance for the Cuban people?

[H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz]

Thank you.

We have friends all over the world, including in Canada. I very much appreciate the news that the Canadian government is considering approving a package of aid for Cuba. I have to say that, in Canada, there are many organizations that are already working on that and trying to help, and this happens all over the world.

We receive help from governments, from international organizations, from enterprise and from NGOs. Even individuals want to help. We receive calls at the embassy, and people write in and ask how they can help. We appreciate that effort very much.

We will do our best in order to use that aid for the most vulnerable people, so the assistance we receive is used properly. I have to say that Cuba has a very clean file on this. Traditionally, we have received assistance from Canada. This is normally monitored by Canadians. We never had any kind of problem with the distribution or the use of humanitarian aid.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next we'll go to MP Brunelle-Duceppe. You have six minutes.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ambassador, thank you for joining us.

First, I would like to express the Bloc Québécois' solidarity with the Cuban people, with whom the people of Quebec have a deep and historic relationship.

Our goal today is quite simple. We want to understand the real needs associated with Cuba's current humanitarian crisis, in order to provide fast, effective and appropriate humanitarian assistance.

Can you describe to the committee, in concrete terms, the most serious impact on people? Is it the lack of food, access to drinking water or the ability to run hospitals, for example? What is the most serious impact on people?