The human rights situation in Cuba is bad, and about to get worse. Prisoners will be denied basic constitutional rights and reports of abuse and torture will surface. No, we are not talking about treatment of dissidents opposed to the revolutionary government—but rather to the victims of US foreign policy in the tropical gulag of Guantánamo.

Canada can lobby Washington to promote a sensible approach to Cuba. In 2014 the government of Stephen Harper hosted secret meetings between US and Cuban negotiators that resulted in the Obama administration reopening diplomatic ties with Cuba. Maybe the Trudeau government—desperately in need of positive news on the foreign policy front—could show some diplomatic initiative.

Cuba is facing its worst crisis in more than 60 years. Given the tradition of solid bilateral relations between Canada and the island nation, Ottawa could gain by aiding Cuba at this critical moment. An imaginative approach would improve substantially the lives of hundreds of thousands of Cubans. The question is: do we have the political will to help the Cuban people?

It appears as though Fox Nation, a subscription-based video service and companion to Fox News Channel, is soon to present a documentary on Canada-Cuba relations, emphasizing the close ties between the Trudeau family and Fidel Castro—and in particular the theory that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the illegitimate son of the late Cuban leader.

It seems to be the season of international summits. But which ones will matter most to the future of the planet? According to John Kirk and Stephen Kimber, the September 15-16 summit in Havana, with the unusual moniker of “Group of 77 plus China” may well ultimately turn out to be the most significant for the future of the Global South and, by extension, all of us.

Cuba desperately needs food and medical aid now. It also deserves an end to the longest-standing embargo in modern times. Canada can play a major role in promoting both outcomes. By doing so it will provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance, but will also enhance its own role in the region where Cuba plays an outsized role. The ball is now in the court of Ministers Joly and Sajjan.

On June 23, the UNGA will vote to condemn the six-decade-long United States embargo of Cuba. Again. What makes this year’s vote more pressing is that US President Joe Biden—who vowed during last year’s presidential campaign he’d reverse Trump administration measures that “inflicted harm on the Cuban people”—is now making life worse instead of better for the Cuban people.