Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is remembering former Cuban President Fidel Castro as a larger than life leader.
Castro died today at the age of 90.
Trudeau, who is attending the Francophonie Summit in Madagascar, expressed his deep sorrow at learning of Castro's passing.
His statement offered condolences on behalf of all Canadians and at the same time acknowledged that Castro was a controversial figure.
But Trudeau also referred to the late president as a "legendary revolutionary and orator."
The prime minister went on to say that "Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation."
Trudeau recently travelled to Cuba but was unable to meet with Castro, who had been a friend of his father and served as an honorary pallbearer at Pierre Trudeau's funeral in 2000.
However, Castro's brother, the current president, was in the front row as the prime minister spoke to students at the University of Havana.
Trudeau said he knows his father was very proud to call Fidel Castro a friend and that it was a real honour to meet his three sons and his brother while he was in Cuba.
Comments
Trudeau has been viciously attacked by every right winger in the world and ipolitics quoted lots of them but none of the messages from South Africa or India or any of the countries where the Cuban doctors rushed to help in disasters.
Cuba's World Public Health Care achievements, anti-colonialism, and interventions in Zaire, Angola etc. are well worth celebrating. However, since Corporate Media are always so quick to silence the slightest mention of world peace initiatives one gets the impression they must be bad for business. Instead, we're fed sideshow distractions to further the classic LIB vs. PC vote volley despite both parties sharing nearly identical priorities. There are at least one or two more relevant issues Trudeau could be criticized for; Trade Deals, Weapons Sales, Nuclear Support, backpedalling on Electoral Reform, Broken Treaties, Water and Land preservation, Fossil Fuels and Climate Change come immediately to mind but reporting truthfully about these would be going against their interests.