Cody's continuing story with Ottawa's involvement(?) today

Before you read my latest thoughts on the concerns about having Ottawa involve itself usefully in the calls for our federal officials to prevail upon Cuban authorities to allow Cody LeCompte to return to Canada, let me reply to what so many listeners have asked by email.  Is there a way to provide some financial support to Cody's Mom Danette LeCompte, now that she's out about $20,000 in payments to the Cuban government for the daily maintainance of her son denied departure from Cuba.

There is in fact a trust account in place where you may make any donation you wish. 

Here's the information on the account:

TD Canada Trust
Branch 83
46 Norfolk Street North
Simcoe, Ontario
N3Y 5C3

Account 6330413, or mention Account in Trust for Cody LeCompte

By the way, the LeCompte family did not offer that information to me.  I suggested they open a trust account where Canadians might donate in order to defray the costs for Danette LeCompte.  Only then did the family inform me the account has been open for a while.

Hundreds of emails by now on the issue of Cody LeCompte (previous two postings) and perhaps a dozen (generous estimate) siding with the federal government's dismal performance dealing with Cody and his Mom Danette's continuing challenges in Cuba.

Today the government designated the parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister to deliver the predictable "we're doing all we can" talking points.  Along the way Mr. Obhrai asked how we would feel if a foreigner broke the law in Canada and his government interceded on his behalf.  Apart from the fact that governments should intercede on behalf of their citizens and most importantly remain in constant contact with the family of citizens under detention in foreign nations, Cody LeCompte has not been charged with a crime in Cuba.  He is being refused exit from that nation while simultaneously his Cuban lawyer (arranged by Cuban authorities) has informed Cody and his family that he will likely be found guilty and sentenced to between one and three years imprisonment.  That's after a trial then?  So why bother with the trial?  Why bother with a defence lawyer (again arranged by Cuban authorities)? 

Mr. Obhrai further stated Cody and Danette LeCompte's member of parliament Diane Finley (cabinet minister) is in daily contact with him (Obhrai) over Cody's situation.  Ms. Finley, perhaps curiously though has only found the time to speak with Danette LeCompte on one occasion and that was at the beginning of this mess.

Foreign Affairs did get in touch with Danette LeCompte yesterday with the brilliant suggestion they leave the tourist hotel where Cody has been staying and rent a house somewhere else in Cuba.  Think of the logistics then consider the inanity of that offering.  That's the best the government can offer.

On the further point that Canada cannot interfere in the affairs of another nation, Mr. Obhrai seemed taken aback when I reminded him that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, for whom I have always had significant respect, in fact did travel to Mexico to directly intercede with the Mexican government (sovereign state ...right?) on behalf of Canadian Brenda Martin who was incarcerated there.

Mr. Obhrai's response was that Brenda Martin had pled guilty and so Canada could get involved.  So to have Mr. Kenney, Ms. Finley or any elected member of our federal government to intercede on behalf of Cody LeCompte he needs to plead guilty ... or be found guilty?

The former is impossible since he's not been charged with anything.  The latter appears likely (according to Cody's Cuban lawyer).   So Cody has at least that to look forward to then?  When he's found guilty the federal government will actually get directly involved?

There is the decent and correct thing to do.  That it appears has escaped the very people we elect to represent the interests of each Canadian.  I would suggest to our highly paid and overly generously pensioned members of parliament (yes, the opposition parties are absent as well) that Canadians would forgive if one or several of them were to make their way to Cuba and charge the trip to their expense accounts.  You know the ones they so jealously attempted to guard from the Auditor General (and still are attempting to guard from the AG).

Canadians won at least part of the battle on the expense spending audit by making insistent demands.

Canadians can win the battle to generate federal government involvement on Cody's behalf by being insistent on this issue as well.  It appears, by email count and on air involvement that this is gathering momentum relentlessly.

To post your thoughts scroll to the bottom of this page, click on "comments".  That will take you to the next page.  Scroll to the bottom and enter your thoughts in the box provided.

Roy

 

Comments

[RJ]

So, let me get this straight. Cody has been denied exit from Cuba because he was involved in a car accident which could not have possibly been his fault as he was not charged at all. However, the feds won't get involved until he pleads quilty to a crime which the Cuban gov't obviously doesn't even believe he committed or the authorities would have charged him with something by now. So our great leaders won't do anything until poor Cody admits to doing something wrong...what is wrong with this picture? The gov't will step in to defend an admitted criminal, but won't stop a travesty of justice? HELLO???? HE IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE!!!! DO SOMETHING NOW BEFORE THE CUBAN GOV'T FORCES HIM TO INCRIMINATE HIMSELF ALL THE WAY TO PRISON!!!! Geez...makes me wonder about the intelligence of those in Ottawa...yeah, opposition parties, I am questioning you too!

[Sig]

Where is Jack Layton and Uncle Iggy in this fiasco?

Surely, the two oppostion leaders can't be so socialist that they don't want to hurt their Cuban goverment buddies.

[Sara Landriault]

I wish Cody all the best and let me know if there is anything I can do!

[Dan Preston]

I am getting tired of the government not helping cody & taking the easy way out. My son served in afghanistan in 2006 , makes a person wonder if they will let down our brave Men & ladies if they should need help.I support the conservatives, but if they continue to act like this , I will not be supporting them, also if the Cuban government continues this ridiculous act , then I nor my family will be visiting Cuba, which we were planning to soon.The government should tell the Cuban government that this is considered a criminal act of kidnapping a canadian. These people need to admit they messed up & get this mess cleared up now.Hang in there Cody , we canadians are not standing by

[Brian Burns]

Hi Roy
I caught your show today on the way home from work(3:30 CHML). Just before turning onto my street I was approaching my MP David Sweets office. Typically Canadian I was going to drive right on by and let my anger stew at home, but today I didn't. I drove up to Mr Sweets office and went in. As I started talking the secretaries were ready. They knew the story and were going to fill me in on what wasn't being told?? To start, MP Dianne Finley found out about this story from MPP Toby Barrett. MP Finley has tried many times to get in touch with the family with no luck?? Cody is 19, you need to be 21 to drive in Cuba thus he broke the law and we can't interfere with another countries laws. You should know the rules when you visit a foreign country. There are 100's of similar cases. And lastly, the Canadian government is working behind the scenes. I don't think they get it. This is ridiculous. They are sitting on their hands doing nothing. There attitude, from the MPs secretaries right on up to the top is frankly pathetic. Mr Sweet came out of his office after 15 minutes with more of the same bull. I left before I got irate. This entire story is scary. Our government is pretty woeful. People be forewarned, when you travel you really are on your own!

[Lesley Seddon]

I was really impressed with the way you shut up Mr. Obhrai, who was doing the usual droning on and on with a prepared speech which he thought would satisfy the audience. You were impressive, I've rarely heard a commentator interrupt a politician so beautifully. These politicians want to bleat and cry over the terrorist Omar Khadr rather than assist an innocent real Canadian.

When you need help from the government you will find what they're really made of.

As for Diane Finley, I have kept a piece of correspondance from her from eight years ago, when I was denied an E.I. claim by being two hours short. The letter from her was so rude and condecending and showed the mind of a soft, overfed, over paid pig at the trough who's never been in need for anything except a conscience.

I love your show
Lesley Seddon

[andy]

I sent email to harper, finley, and
deepak. If they dont help good by votes. I was in cuba for a wedding two weeks ago. I will never go back
hello hawaii

[Grant M. Gilbert]

Roy,

I have had a chance to listen to the story about Cody in Cuba periodically today and yesterday. You do great work on behalf of Canadians in these difficult situations in so-called democratic countries and in this case a communist country.

To all Canadian who simply blow off the fact that communist countries repress human rights of their own citizens and foreigners I hope you are paying attention. Perhaps the next time you rant forth the Anti-American, anti-Harper mantra and disregard that we do so much in the name of personal freedoms and human rights, this story will stop and make you think about who are the good guys and who are the countries about whom you should take note. Fidel Castro, and his brother Raoul are not cult heroes, they are authoritarian dictators and their country should not be supported with an iota of your after tax vacation dollars.

This is no slight against Cody and his family for having selected Cuba but their choice does represent the laisse faire attitude that we Canadians have taken about a truly despicable regime.

I have always felt this way about those who vacation in Cuba and this story has tripled my feelings. There is no way in he_ _ you would ever get me on a plane to Cuba for any reason. When I went to China on business I enjoyed some cultural differences and experiences that were tremendously rewarding but I ALWAYS kept in mind that you simply must stay away from anything that even remotely resembles trouble or can put you in a compromising situation that makes gaining release nearly impossible. It’s a communist country and that matters.

I feel bad for Cody and hope for his early return. This poor kid likely had no idea that venturing out into their society and away from his resort could have had such devastating consequences of his involvement in an accident even where he clearly had no blame. Too bad nobody likely taught him this in high school, his parents didn’t inform him, and the Canadian tour company likely never warned him.

To the Canadian government I say – Remember – ‘We stand on guard for thee’ means something to our citizens - so Get him home NOW!! To the Canadian people, consider yourself cautioned, and inform yourself !! Don’t expect your tour agency to lecture you on the true dangers of such excursions – after all they are selling you this ‘cheap vacation’, and really, lets wise up !! This aint Florida, Hawaii or even Mexico with all its judicial flaws and drug war dangers. This is Cuba, and your rights mean nothing once you leave that resort.

As for your vacation dollars, yes they support Canadian tour companies, and help employ poor Cubans, but understand that part of this money ends up in the hands of the Cuban government that you will support in your decision to go there. Their dirty work, in a very limited part, is clearly on display with this story. If you can live with that, I suggest you need a refresher on Freedom 101. We’re the good guys, and countries like Cuba aren’t on our list.

Grant M. Gilbert

[Teri]

Hi Roy,
As I e-mailed you before, I have contacted my MLA, Lyle Stewart, Diane Finlay, and Stephen Harper. I also wrote to the Cuban Embassy
(that e-mail was returned)
You are the only one who responded to me. I cut and pasted your post on your show when you talked to Danette and Cody, then sent to all my e-mail contacts, urging them to contact those in government positions. I talked to my children, and siblings, in Calgary and B.C, and they did not even know of this event. How can we reach people in Alberta and BC?
We can put enough pressure on politicians to make this right.
Regards,
Teri

[Tim Koenig]

Dear Mr. Green:
Kudos to you sir on being able to keep your cool while listening to the predictable rambling from Mr. Obhrai. I, on the other hand, almost drove off the road while having to listen to his pitiful excuses.
Hopefully all this publicity regarding Cody LeCompte's plight will get our Government to move their self righteous asses and do what is necessary to get this young man home.
I was thinking of going to Cuba with my wife for a vacation but after hearing all this I have changed my mind!
Keep up the good work
Sincerely
Mr. Tim Koenig

[Gary Parmenter]

There have been comments posted on the web site about the driving age being 21 in Cuba and Cody should have known better. I would ask the reader what is the driving age in Argentina, Mexico, France do you know? My point is that Cuba is a communist country the car rental agency is owned by the state. They rented the vehicle and used Cody's driver licence they told the agent he was 19. Should not the agent have said "Heh you are too young to drive in Cuba" or you need to be 25 as is the case with many car agenceies in Canada. Well that didn't happen then for no other reason that they wanted the money. After the accident the rental agent approached Cody and Danette asking them to lie to the police and tell the police Cody was 21. Thank goodness Danette and Cody didn't do that and told the truth

[rose ross]

can u make a page like a petition, as to how many people will refuse to go to cuba,and forward it to an official site, i would love to sign it, as for a vacation there is not worth your livelyhood. cuban official have no respect for canadian citizens.

[Vince Howard]

Hi Roy
I agree that our officials should do more in helping Cody deal with the problems he is facing.BUT, as a person who has travelled often to Cuba(7 times) you also need to understand the way things work down there.If you have an accident while driving YOU ARE DETAINED. There are no charges until the matter has gone to trbunal and you are found guilty or not and then are charged. Just because we dont understand how their system works does not meen it is wrong.
As I stated at the beginning ,I do feel that our Governmemt needs to do more in helping with travellers caught up legal nightmares in foriegn countries.

[Vince Howard]

Hi
Everybody is stating that Cody is is not at fault for this accident.Who says he is not at fault,him.Just because he has not been charged does not meen he is not to blame. The Cuban system works differently than the Canadian system. We only know Cody's side of the story, what about talking to the driver of the truck. We might hear something that nobody wants to hear and that Cody could be at fault. The wheels of justice grind slow in the carribean. The Cuban system,right or wrong, has the people involved detained until everything is sorted out and then charges laid.

[Penny Harris]

As per the post of Tim Koenig, we too were looking at Cuba as a vacation destination but that ship has sailed. Permanently.

I am in VCR and have been keeping up with this story via your show (so people in BC are aware and this one is BENT). Our government is acting in a completely shameful way, not to mention lazy, pathetic and humilating to all Canadians. Your comment that if this were Harper's son or in my opinion any child of a person of means or position they would have been yanked out of there moments after it happened, was spot on. Why can't these people at least be provided FREE accomodation and protection at the Canadian Embassy in Cuba? My tax dollars pay for it and I say it would be a hell of a lot better use than housing some "figurehead" that was stuck there via a government appointment.

Please keep up the pressure and help this young man get home.

Penny Harris

[Judith Hertling]

Dear Roy,

I heard your show last night in regard to Cody LeCompte, and I don't think I have ever heard you as angry with anyone on your talk show as you were with Mr. Obhrai. I applaud you sir.
Listening to Mr. Obhrai, I could only shake my head in disgust at the lack of compassion for this young man, and at the continuous repetition of diplomatic rhetoric and judicial nonsense that Mr. Obhrai spouted.
Our Government should be doing more to aid Cody, and for him to be told that he will likely be found guilty and serve prison time even before a trial, is in my humble opinion disgraceful. Decency does not appear to play any role in this fiasco.
When will our Canadian government get a backbone when dealing with foreign governments and stand up for it's citizens, and when will Canadians say enough is enough?
Thank you Roy for not letting this story go.

[John]

The accident with the dump truck was a staged scam .. Cody can come home soon as the right person/s receive a suitcase full of canadian dollars ..

[EP]

I understood that you had to be 21 to drive in Cuba so that makes this young man too young to drive in Cuba. Dollars to donuts that the rental is in someone else's name. Secondly there are warnings EVERYWHERE both in Cuba, at each individual resort and on travel documents going to Cuba about the need to be careful of the laws of that country. Did everyone forget that this is a communist country? They don't share well with others.
We may not like or undertand their laws just like they do not have to have any respect or admiration for ours. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that there are closed door phone calls and meetings about this issue going on between our governments. I don't expect the government to air the subject of those talks on national radio. So keep screaming and ranting in the luxury of our beautiful country with the cloak of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms around us. This family travelled to a foreign country and became tangled in the laws, rules or regulations of that country. Oh yes... did everyong forget that this country was Cuba? Geez maybe the United States know something that we obviously don't about travelling to Cuba. I have empathy for this family and I hope there is a good ending. And before I forget ... I do not travel to Cuba, never have and never will. I heard somewhere that it is a communist country and that I might not like the laws, rules and regulations.

[Kevin]

Dear Cody,

Hang in there, this will come to an end and you will get home, keep your chin up.

I have started a Facebook group and Page Called "Bring Cody Home" I invite everyone to join it and I will continue to send messages to my MP and others. In 24 hours we have over 500 members so rest assured your story is being heard across the country and the world.
Thank you Roy for bringing this story to the fore.
Kevin

[Isaac krolik]

Roy I am still not convinced with our Canadian government but you and I have one thing in common we say things that governments and other people don't like to here and when you said to mr obry that he is failing and not doing his job about getting Cody back to Canada it is ridiculous that he won't admit that he isn't doing a good job bring Cody home already so that Cody can start recovering from this horrible event

Isaac from Winnipeg manitoba

[sharon jordan]

I just want to comment on the Cody
Le Compte situation. I believe that Cody should be allowed to leave Cuba and return to Canada. He needs to get out of Cuba as soon as possible to seek medical help.

I was thinking of visiting Cuba in the near future, but this type of political corruption of Cody has certainly caused me to
review my vacation plans.

[John Hudson]

Just read the article in the SUN regarding Cody.
A really disturbing situation.
It is to be hoped that now that there is more media attention that the
Canadian government will do something--at very least make some
diplomatic maneuvers.
I would think that since we have maintained good relations with the
regime down there --not going along with the Americans--that some
intervention by the Canadian government would have some effect.
It is a most difficult situation for the whole family and we have
them in our thoughts and prayers.

[Frank Docherty]

Cody, you can stop worrying. Roy Green has got your back, and his listeners support you too. Roy is not going to let up until your two feet are back on Canadian soil. Roy will not let you down. You will be home soon, Roy Green and his listeners guarantee that!

[John]

My daughter is about to embark on a seven month trip to Asia. Some countries she plans to visit are Thailand, Nepal, India and China. We have impressed on her that these countries have vast different ideas of rights for citizens and not to expect that her rights in these countries will ever be compared to her rights here in Canada. So the point is, any time you travel to a foreign country, don't expect to be treated the same as you would here if you come in contact with the law! So maybe Cody's treatment is the Cuban govt's fault, not ours!

[Elaine]

Roy, thanks for bringing Cody's situation to light.I've emailed his mp Diane Finley several times and also emailed the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa (embacuba@embacuba.ca). My brother has gone to Cuba for many years and my family just went last summer. I told the embassy never again if they don't get Cody home immediately and I mean it! I'm letting friends and family know and they are emailing also.
Cody and family, be strong, don't give up....we'll keep on making noise on your behalf! You're in my thoughts throughout the day, every day.