Wilson Pushes Cuba Connection

He said Canada has developed relations not only with officials in Fidel Castro's government, but also members of the island's fragmented opposition groups, and Ottawa has pushed Havana to release political prisoners and open its economy. Canada can also draw on its business investments and tourism spending in Cuba to curry influence, the former Conservative cabinet minister said. "We have a dialogue, and that is different from the United States because they have nothing like this type of dialogue," Wilson said. "Because of that dialogue, we have an understanding of how Cuba thinks. We also have an understanding of how Washington thinks. Cuba sees us as a North American country with which they can have some sort of dialogue. "We can build a greater understanding between the two countries." The 80-year-old Castro handed power provisionally to his brother Raul last July 31 and has undergone unspecified abdominal surgery. He has not reappeared in public since. Fidel Castro's health has been the subject of numerous conflicting reports, but his son said this week he expected his father to fully recover. Raul Castro has stated publicly that he is open to negotiations with the U.S. government on an equal footing. http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/182747 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on February 19, 2007]

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