Canadian Politician Sponsors Petition to End US Sanctions Against Cuba

A member of the Canadian Parliament has sponsored a petition to the Government of Canada calling for an end to all U.S. sanctions against Cuba. 

The petition (e-3456) to the Government of Canada Against the U.S. Economic Blockade of Cuba and on Canada-Cuba Relations began collecting signatures on May 28.

Niki Ashton, the representative of the New Democratic Party for Churchill, Manitoba, sponsored the petition.

The petition urges Canada to take immediate action through the implementation of the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, among others, in order to guarantee that local companies and entities not be in league with the application of the economic US sanctions on Cuba.

In less than 48-hours, the petition, reached the 500-signature requirement required in order to be presented to the House of Commons. It will then become part of official parliamentary records, appearing in the Journals for that day in which it is presented.

The Government of Canada will then be required to respond within 45 calendar days to the petition.

The petition is hoping to collect the signature of millions of Canadians who have traveled to Cuba and come away with a profound respect and admiration for the people of Cuba.

The petition is as follows:

The government of the United States has imposed economic sanctions, amounting to an economic war, against Cuba for more than 60 years, constituting the principal obstacle to Cuba’s social and economic development, having cost in excess of $100 billion;

The Government of the United States has pressured and coerced other countries to participate in its regime of economic sanctions against Cuba;

The United States economic sanctions and the campaign of subversion against Cuba are a violation of international law, the right of self-determination and the human rights of the people of Cuba; and

Since 1992, the international community, including Canada, has rejected United States economic sanctions against Cuba through overwhelming votes in the United Nations General Assembly.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:

• Call on the Government of the United States to end all economic sanctions against Cuba;
• Call on the Government of the United States to cease its campaign of subversion and policy of hostility and aggression against Cuba;
• Call on the Government of the United States to remove Cuba from the United States Department of State’s List of State Sponsors of Terror;
• Take immediate steps and actions through the implementation and enforcement of, among others, the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, in order to preserve Canadian sovereignty and ensure that Canadian companies and other entities do not participate in United States economic sanctions against Cuba; and
• Ensure that its relations with Cuba be based on equality and the respect of sovereignty, independence and the right of self-determination.

To sign the petition, you must be a Canadian citizen or a resident of Canada. The petition:

In English: Petition to the Government of Canada

In French: Pétition au gouvernement du Canada