PM’s Castro praise caught officials cold
Emails show diplomats sought guidance to deal with fallout
OTTAWA— Justin Trudeau’s praise of Fidel Castro after the Cuban leader’s death left bureaucrats scrambling to counter the criticism sparked by the prime minister’s comments, documents show.
The Foreign Affairs Department, the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister’s Office were all involved in drafting public statements to dampen the reaction stirred by Trudeau’s warm tribute of the polarizing world figure — and the critique he had turned a blind eye to Castro’s human rights record.
In a telling sign, several of Canada’s diplomatic missions were discour- aged from reposting Trudeau’s statement on social media, according to the documents obtained under Access to Information.
The controversy broke last November when Castro died, ending his decades-long reign ruling of Cuba with an iron grip. In his Nov. 26 statement, Trudeau expressed “deep sorrow” at the passing of Castro, whom he called a “larger than life leader.”
As criticism mounted, bureaucrats worked behind the scenes to counter the fallout of Trudeau’s statement as Canadian diplomats pressed foreign affairs for direction in how to respond.
“U.S. missions are looking for media lines on Fidel Castro,” said one Nov. 28 email as the controversy hit.
Officials in foreign affairs and communications staff in the prime minister’s office worked on “lines” that were given to the Canadian embassy in Washington. Those were “for use by the ambassador in responding to criticisms of PM Trudeau’s press release,” according to an email from a foreign affairs official dated Nov. 28.
The speaking note said that Castro was “loved and hated.”
“The PM acknowledged Castro was a controversial figure; he offered an obituary to recognize the passing of a former head of state, a state with which Canada has a deep and longlasting relationship,” the note said.
“But make no mistake, the PM has never shied away from raising the issue of human rights in Cuba and abroad,” it said.
Yet that statement, provided for David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador in Washington, went further than Trudeau did himself, citing what it called Castro’s “irredeemable failings in human rights.”
Similar responses were prepared and distributed to Canada’s other diplomatic missions in the U.S. to help staff field media inquiries about the tone of Trudeau’s statement. Canadian missions were also warned against sharing Trudeau’s original statement.
“Regarding the PM’s press release, we are consulting . . . but I would recommend not re-posting it at the moment,” a foreign affairs official responded.