Karen Dubinsky, Professor Emerita, was featured in the CBC News article,
"Karen Dubinsky, a historian at 成人大片 in Kingston, Ont., who studies the relationships between Canadians and Cubans, came back this week from a month-long research trip to Havana.
She says while Cuba has been in "serious economic decline" for years, exacerbated in part by its own government's actions and by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of Trump's recent moves were "palpable and immediate," making a bad situation more dire.
"People aren't able to go to work because there's literally no public transportation," she said. Dubinsky said eight-hour blackouts were not uncommon in Havana, and the situation is "much worse" in smaller towns and the countryside.
Canadian airlines have suspended flights to the island, citing fuel shortages, while some European airlines have added a refuel stop in nearby countries.
Dubinsky says Canada should not hesitate to send aid, noting Canadians and Cubans have a long history of working together and many families go back and forth between the two countries.
"The fact that Canada has this sensitive relationship with a very bellicose U.S. doesn't strike me as a good reason not to continue to work with countries with whom we have a co-operative relationship, a co-operative history," she said.