Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will agree with my colleague that the policy of engagement with Cuba had been done under Conservative and Liberal governments, and it was the right thing to do. It is much better than an embargo. Isolation is rarely a solution to improve the situation of people in a country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague’s view that today the official opposition wants to carry on a debate that is not warranted. We should all strive to help the Cuban people achieve reconciliation and work together to provide a better future for their children, rather than stir up old conflicts surrounding Fidel Castro.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I was saying that during his recent visit, our Prime Minister took the opportunity to strengthen our co-operation with Cuba to address illicit trafficking of drugs in the region. We cannot take our historical friendship with Cuba for granted. In the past year, countless leaders have been arriving in Havana, eager to court the Cuban government and to take advantage of trade and investment opportunities that may arise as Cuba moves its economy toward reform and toward greater private sector involvement.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, let us imagine for a moment that we are November 16, 2016, at the university of Havana. The room is full of students and professors, president Raúl Castro is in attendance, and the scene is broadcast on radio and television, reaching Cubans and other Latin Americans beyond.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act. As such, the requested information has been withheld on the grounds that its release could be expected to be injurious to the conduct of international affairs; threatening the safety of Canadians, employees, or property of the Government of Canada.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to repeat again that most leaders around the world said about the same thing our Prime Minister said. At a time when the people of Cuba will be able to transition, we hope, to more freedom and democracy. We need to support them and to encourage them not to agonize about the past but to unify together to give their children a better future.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it is precisely in order to help the people of Cuba to be united instead of agonizing about the past that we need to encourage them to do the reforms that will bring them more freedom and move them toward democracy. The fact that Canada strongly supported the people of Cuba over the last 50 years, under both Conservative and Liberal governments, will be an asset.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Cuban people have different views about that. The only way to help them to move on in order to have an improved society with freedom and democracy is not to antagonize about the facts, as my colleagues want to do, but to focus on the future together, Canadians united with the people of Cuba, to support them all the way.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, what he will not do is create a situation where we internalize even more of the past. We encourage the people of Cuba to unify, all together, and to work hard together to give a better future to their children, with more freedom, and to go step by step toward democracy.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, when Fidel Castro passed away, the leaders of the world, with very few exceptions, did not call him a dictator. They said about the same thing as our Prime Minister and Ban Ki-moon: that former president Castro of Cuba made advances in the fields of education, literacy, and health.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the vast majority of foreign heads of state did not call Fidel Castro a dictator at that particular moment, even though that is what he was. At the news of Fidel Castro's passing, they chose to try to say something positive about him. That is what the Prime Minister of Canada did, and that is what the other world leaders did, because the intention was not to revive old antagonisms, but to show support for the people of Cuba and encourage them to look forward and create a better future for their children.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to see democracy in Cuba. The Canadian people want to see democracy in Cuba. Canada has enjoyed 50 years of unbroken relations with Cuba that served both our countries and the rest of the world. Now is the time to build on all that we accomplished with the Cuban people to help them work toward a more democratic and open society with greater freedoms.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, as I said in French, and I may also repeat it in Spanish if it is needed, it is very important for Canada to use our relationship with Cuba over the last 50 years to help the people of Cuba now to have a better future for their children, with more freedom, and to set the bar toward democracy.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, it is a service that is available to any province of any political orientation, of course. However, since my colleague is asking the question about what this trip gave to Canada: 44 commercial agreements; $118 million; 200 jobs in Ontario. Other provinces have benefited from the same service.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I guess my colleague was sleeping when I just spoke, so I will repeat myself. This is a service available to any province, and we do not look at the political affiliation of the province. That is ridiculous as a statement. He would be unable to substantiate it. Did he not hear me describe 44 commercial agreements; $118 million; 200 jobs in Ontario; stronger links with Israel?