Canada's economic relations with Fidel Castro's regime have served to perpetuate the repressive apparatus. The unaccountable nature of the system allows Fidel Castro's inner circle to amass millions of dollars while Cubans are subjected to slavery. Canadian companies like Sherritt International profit from nickel and oil prospects, paying payroll costs in hard currency directly to the Cuban government, which in exchange pays a fraction equivalent to less than 5% in Cuban pesos to those workers.
The Cuban regime, Sherritt International, and the like are the sole winners of so-called constructive engagement, at times disguised as the best way of helping Cubans access advanced technology and fringe benefits. The truth is that as long as this continues, Cuban authorities will see no reason to grant the liberties Cubans deserve. On the contrary, it delivers the message that human rights are a joke and matter solely for propagandistic purposes, and that not even legitimate democracies care about the dissidents' lonely and courageous struggle for freedom.