Statement by Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada and man of the Left:
It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba's longest serving President.
Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro
made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.
While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro's supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people
who had a deep and lasting affection for "el Comandante".
I know my father was very proud to call him a friend and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away. It was also a real
honour to meet his three sons and his brother President Raul Castro during my recent visit to Cuba.
On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro. We
join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of this remarkable leader.
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Excerpts from an Editorial in the Wall Street Journal, a conservative U.S. newspaper:
Fidel Castro's legacy of 57 years in power is best understood by the fates of two groups of his countrymen—those who remained in Cuba and
suffered impoverishment and dictatorship, and those who were lucky or brave enough to flee to America to make their way in freedom. No
progressive nostalgia after his death Friday at age 90 should disguise this murderous and tragic record.
Castro...soon revealed that his goal was to
impose Communist rule. He exiled clergy, took over Catholic schools and expropriated businesses. Firing squads and dungeons eliminated rivals
and dissenters.
Castro destroyed a developing but relatively prosperous Cuba...in the last half century Cuba's
export growth has been less than Haiti's, and now even doctors are scarce because so many are sent abroad to earn foreign currency. Hospitals
lack sheets and aspirin. The average monthly income is $20 and government food rations are inadequate.
Note: President-elect Donald Trump called Castro a "brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades," and said he hoped Castro's death gave Cuban-Americans "the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba." Mr. Trump said, "Fidel Castro's legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights."
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