Sask. residents with ties to Venezuela share thoughts on changing situation

People in Saskatchewan with connections to Venezuela are following events closely and stressing its humanitarian impact. Mick Favel reports.

A number of Saskatchewan people with ties to Venezuela are keeping tabs on the latest updates coming out of the South American country after the U.S. military extradition of President Nicolas Maduro.

In a matter of days, Venezuela has changed directions both politically and economically, impacting places around the world, including Canada and the future of the oil sector.

Stephanie Bellefleur is a Canadian citizen who was born in Venezuela. She has family living there experiencing what is happening.

“It is very bombarding to go on your social media every day and see images that are painful and hurtful. It’s scary,” she said.

The future of Venezuela’s natural resources is a significant conversation happening around the world.

Asnoldo Prieto was born in Venezuela and spent a portion of his life there.

Prieto said although Venezuela is one of the wealthiest countries in the world when it comes to resources, it was not visible in his experience.

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“The resources were not going towards Venezuela. It’s not as if Venezuela was thriving or the wealth was actually being put for the people,” he said.

Venezuela is home to one of the biggest crude oil reserves in the world. What happens to these resources in the near future will have a global impact, which includes Canada’s oil industry.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said these moves only add to the urgency of getting Canadian oil to the global market.

“We are already taking a discount on the oil we are producing because we don’t have that global market access,” he said.

“Other countries around the world don’t have access to western Canadian oil. We should be having this conversation.”

Those with connections to Venezuela hope those watching around the world see a country filled with real people, and not just a source of economic wealth.

“This is a humanities issue. This is not an issue about money. If we are only focused on the economic growth of the one per cent, that isn’t serving us,” Bellefleur said.