16/06/2026
Today, the Americas Policy Group, alongside dozens of Canadian civil society organizations, released a joint statement calling on the Canadian government to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cuba, cornerstone rights of all states under international law.
The joint statement is published on a full page of The Hill Times, a paper that was distributed today to every office on Parliament Hill. It is an important means to draw the attention of MPs and government officials to the ever more urgent need for principled action by Canada in the face of U.S. threats of military intervention in Cuba and an unlawful, escalating blockade that is causing massive suffering.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned on June 8 that the expansion of U.S. sanctions against Cuba is causing widespread harm to the population and endangering lives, urging a halt to sanctions which violate international law. The UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichón stated in May that with the US blockade cutting off oil, the island’s healthcare has been wrecked, tens of thousands of surgeries postponed, access to clean water lost and babies put at risk. The UN expert concluded, “We need fuel now to save lives.”
The APG and all the organizations who signed this joint statement call on the Canadian government to:
🟢 Publicly oppose and work to stop a U.S. military intervention in Cuba;
🟢 Speak out forcefully against unlawful U.S. coercive measures to withhold fuel and starve the Cuban people;
🟢 Work more determinedly with the United Nations and other countries to expedite the delivery of fuel and other life-sustaining supplies to Cuba.
Signatories to the joint statement in alphabetical order are:
Alongside Hope, Alternatives, Americas Policy Group (APG), Anglican Church of Canada, Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI), Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Centre International de Solidarité Ouvrière (CISO), CoDevelopment Canada Comité de solidarité Trois-Rivières, Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine (CDHAL), Common Frontiers, KAIROS, National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D), Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Solidarité Laurentides Amérique centrale (SLAM), The Council of Canadians, The Presbyterian Church of Canada, Unifor, The United Church of Canada United Steelworkers (USW), World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), and World Beyond War.
Image credit: Copinh Honduras
