[Witness spoke in Spanish, interpreted as follows:]
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
According to our most recent study on the state of social rights in Cuba, 89% of the population lives in extreme poverty, and seven out of 10 Cubans must forgo at least one of the three daily meals. Amid recurring epidemics, only 3% of the population was able to obtain medicine from pharmacies within the public health system. Among the hardest-hit sectors, older adults suffer the effects of the system in an especially cruel way. Many live in homes at risk of collapse, live without stable access to potable water and receive a monthly retirement pension so low that it barely allows them to buy a dozen eggs and little more.
Among the most vulnerable are also the victims of state repression, especially the approximately 800 prisoners of conscience and their families who suffer the added injustice of losing their freedom for calling for change or for exposing the situation of scarcity and misery that we are talking about today. Roberto Pérez Fonseca is one of those prisoners, and his brother is a Canadian citizen.
The causes of this tragedy are structural. We are not speaking of a temporary or circumstantial crisis, nor of exogenous roots. These are the natural consequences of a centrally planned economic model that concentrates most means of production in the hands of the state, fails to provide legal certainty to investments, and suffocates economic and social freedom. The deterioration of hospitals, the shortage of medical supplies, the collapse of buildings, the increase in blackouts, and the mountains of garbage in the streets now appearing in international media are the results of an accumulation of decades of failed policies.
For years, those in power have prioritized hotel construction and businesses controlled by a military-run conglomerate, GAESA, instead of taking care of the people. These companies buy food from other countries and resell it at exorbitant prices in dollars that are out of reach for most households.
There are blackouts, but various investigations indicate that a significant portion of the subsidized oil, as was mentioned by witnesses before me, that Venezuela sent to Cuba was illegally resold to third countries instead of being used to alleviate the internal energy crisis.
I would also like to mention here the labour model imposed in Cuba's foreign investment sector—the ambassador was the minister of investment—which systematically violates workers' rights and impoverishes them by prohibiting the direct hiring of personnel by the investing company. Instead, hiring must be channelled through state employment agencies that act as monopolistic intermediaries that only let Cuban workers receive 10%. That's not progressive.
The persistent and critical humanitarian reality in Cuba has been invisible for decades except when, for political or ideological reasons, some use it to criticize other states or during periods when aid from abroad appears as a kind of assistance but does not address the real cause.
An honest approach is required. Therefore, we present three proposals in different areas.
First, we propose that Canada participate in a coordinated international response that promotes real economic and political opening, encouraging fundamental freedoms, private initiative and respect for human rights. Only structural, not cosmetic change will allow the Cuban people to regain hope and build their own future.
Second, we propose that humanitarian support be delivered directly to the Cuban population, with churches and civil society to ensure effective delivery.
Third, we propose that Canada, together with other countries, press Cuban authorities to reform the labour regime governing foreign investment, one that would be unacceptable in any western country, including here.
Finally, honourable members, we are facing the end of a historical cycle in Cuba. Either the decision is made to prolong the country's decline—and with it the agony of the Cuban people—or the decision is made to help find a reasonable, peaceful political solution to the current situation.
Thank you very much.