EDITORIAL PAGE — Canada, Cuba and the U.S.

Having come of age on the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, Canada has earned the right to make its own foreign policy and conduct business ventures accordingly. That is why it is puzzling, to say the least, that some American politicians are threatening to blacklist Canadian companies that do business in Cuba.

The list of offenders includes Sherritt, an Alberta-based company that has a joint-venture interest in a Cuban nickel-cobalt operation. Sherritt’s deal with Cuba’s aging revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, is not going over well with some hardline American politicians, or with certain business interests that are laying historic claim to the nickel assets.

But if misery loves company, Sherritt may find plenty among the growing list of Canadian junior companies now actively exploring or developing mineral projects in the Caribbean island nation.

It is the view of the anti-Castro lobby that foreign companies doing business in Cuba, even within a joint venture structure, are Cuban enterprises. As such, they fall under the embargo laws and therefore cannot do business with American companies or citizens. They also run the risk of being targeted for more drastic measures being proposed by some politicians.

Notwithstanding this tough stance on Cuba, American companies today are actively scouting emerging opportunities in countries that, a decade ago, were also blacklisted.

China, Vietnam and the former republics of the Soviet Union were all hardline communist countries, ruled by repressive regimes. Yet North American companies are now signing deals, or laying the groundwork for future investment, in these jurisdictions. At the same time, American politicians are encouraging reforms in these countries, which are slowly being liberalized to reflect the end of the Cold War, and the new realities of the global economy.

Granted, Cuba is something of an anomaly. It sits at America’s backdoor, and refugees from Castro’s heavy-handed regime still arrive on America’s shores, seeking opportunities denied them in their own country.

But the fact that Cuba is now seeking foreign investment to revitalize its economy tells another story. It is an acknowledgement, albeit subtle, that central planning and the nationalistic policies that were the backbone of its economy have failed. The country is turning toward free-market policies, thus laying the groundwork for the post-Castro era that is soon to come.

Communism is, without doubt, the worst social engineering experiment ever foisted on mankind. It has ruined the economic lifeblood of many nations and oppressed the initiative and spirit of those that live under its yoke. The experiment has failed worldwide, crushed by its own excesses and intransigence.

But there have been excesses, too, on the right, including within Latin American regimes previously supported by the U.S. For too many years, Latin America has been a battleground for the Cold War.

What the U.S. does within its borders is its own business. Canadians would never presume to tell American business interests where they should, or should not, invest.

Canada and the U.S. are strong allies and will always remain so, but that does not mean Canada should have its foreign or economic policies dictated by Washington.