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The group of six Canadian observers, among them representatives of Common Frontiers, Unifor, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), the United Church of Canada and Rabble.ca, lauded Venezuela’s “strong and vibrant democracy,” however, in a report published by Common Frontiers after the May 2018 trip. United Steelworkers and a Toronto personal injury law firm, Carranza LLP, also provided “delegation support,” according to the report.

“We witnessed a transparent, secure, democratic and orderly electoral and voting process,” the document concludes. “Our delegation was impressed by the electoral process and felt confident that the results of the elections represent the will of the majority of Venezuelans who voted.”

Meanwhile, an Organization of American States panel of human rights experts conducted hearings last year and concluded Maduro’s regime should be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, including thousands of cases of murder, torture and imprisonment against the political opposition. Canada, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru did so in September.

“The notion that free and fair elections could possibly be taking place when you not only criminalize those who are on the opposition … but when you don’t have any allowance for expressions of freedom of speech, assembly, association and the like, simply is a non-sequitur,” said Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian justice minister who sat on the panel. “I think part of the problem with the labour groups who went down there is that they seem to be acting reflexively out of a political agenda rather than a human rights agenda. Out of a left-right agenda rather than a right-wrong approach.”