A federal Crown corporation has confirmed its chief executive praised Fidel Castro and spoke approvingly of Cuba’s communist system during a private staff session, remarks that later leaked and sparked outrage.Blacklock's Reporter says Farm Credit Canada acknowledged that CEO Justine Hendricks, who earns $458,000 a year, described the Cuban dictator as courageous and principled during a November 21 “Ask Me Anything” videoconference with employees. The Regina-based Crown lender declined further comment on the substance of her remarks.“I’ve admired his courage and, you know, how he stuck to his values,” Hendricks told staff. “Believe it or not, it’s Fidel Castro. There’s all sorts of aspects of Fidel Castro.”A partial transcript of the exchange surfaced December 3 after being leaked to Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, who published it on his Food Professor Twitter feed. He said contacts within Farm Credit Canada were “stunned.”“Yikes,” Charlebois wrote. “Fidel Castro should not be considered a role model by anyone let alone a Canadian Crown corporation’s CEO.”.The full transcript was later tabled in the House of Commons at the request of Conservative MP John Barlow of Foothills, Alta., confirming the leaked comments were accurate. The exchange followed a question from an unnamed employee asking Hendricks to name a personal role model.“I might surprise you with who I’m going to name,” she replied, before praising Castro for what she called his consistency and resolve.Hendricks, appointed CEO in 2023, previously worked at Export Development Canada. During the session she referenced her experience dealing with Cuba while at the Crown lender, noting that airports on the island had been financed through the agency and that Canada had longstanding ties with the regime.She said she was impressed by how Cuban authorities responded to crises, claiming aid was directed first to food and health care. .While acknowledging flaws in the system, Hendricks said she admired what she described as the country’s ability to endure pressure from larger powers.“I’m not saying it’s the perfect system,” she said, adding that she respected Cuba’s “courage and tenacity.”Human Rights Watch paints a far darker picture. In its 2025 report, the group described Cuba as a repressive dictatorship where criticism of the ruling party — including on social media — can lead to torture and prison sentences of up to 15 years.“The government continues to repress and punish virtually all forms of dissent and public criticism,” the report said.Researchers documented roughly 1,000 political prisoners, including children, widespread shortages of food and medicine, and an infrastructure in such poor condition that power outages can last up to 20 hours a day. Human Rights Watch also noted a mass exodus from the island, with official figures showing Cuba’s population fell by 10% between 2021 and 2023.
