Canada Declares Independence in Havana

Its not only U.S.-Cuba policy thats maintained with domestic electoral concerns in mind. Canadian prime minister Jean Chretiens visit with Fidel Castro may also have been undertaken with his electorate in mind: Chretiens Cuba trip will win him votes back home because hes asserting his independence from the U.S., says TIME Toronto bureau chief Andrew Purvis. Chretien told Castro that most participants in the recent Summit of the Americas want Cuba to rejoin the hemispheres family of nations, and he also pressed for the release of dissidents. His primary message, however: Dont tell Canada what to do, eh? And thats a vote-getter on any issue.