Junior foreign minister Peter Kent attends a Calgary news conference on Sept. 1, 2009.Jeff McIntosh
Cody LeCompte's family is hoping Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Kent can intervene again to speed up Mr. LeCompte's return to Canada from Cuba.
The 19-year-old man from Simcoe, Ont., has been held in Cuba since a car accident in late April.
Last week Cuban police agreed to let Mr. LeCompte's family post bail of 2,000 Cuban pesos, or about $100, on the condition he return to Cuba for a trial.
Mr. LeCompte had been expecting to return today, but the family was told Monday that all the necessary paperwork has not been completed by Cuban officials to lift a restriction on his passport.
Mr. Kent took the matter up last week with a Cuban official in Ottawa and Mr. LeCompte's mother, Danette, said today they have been trying to reach the minister about the latest delays.
She told The Canadian Press says they are trying to remain hopeful, but "there's always something else."
The document releasing Mr. LeCompte's passport has been signed by the prosecutor, but it also has to be signed by a representative of Cuba's foreign affairs Department.
Cuban foreign affairs then needs to contact the Cuban immigration department, who will conduct a review and may, or may not release his passport.
The LeComptes were planning to fly to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, and then head home to Simcoe - where a homecoming party had been planned.
The ordeal began three months ago, when the rental car Mr. LeCompte was driving was side-swiped by a pick up truck.
His mother and uncle Gary Parmenter were passengers in the car, along with his uncle's Cuban fiancee.
Mr. Parmenter's fiancee was severely injured and needed an operation to remove part of her liver. She has since fully recovered.
The driver of the truck was not injured.
Mr. LeCompte's mother was later told that drivers must be 21 to rent a car, but the rental agency allowed her son to drive even though his licence showed him to be 19.
A few days later the family tried to catch a flight home, but Mr. LeCompte was told that he could not leave the country.
Since then, the ordeal has cost the family more than $30,000.
The LeComptes' situation has received media attention across the country, and a Facebook group called Bring Cody LeCompte Home, has over 3,000 members.
Aurel Braun, a professor of international law and political science at the University of Toronto, says Canada has a great deal of leverage with Cuba.
"They are aware of the fact that we are an important trading partner, they understand that a significant number of tourists come from Canada and their economy desperately needs Canadians," he said.
Mr. Braun says Cuba has always been cold to foreign countries trying to interfere with its affairs.
However, despite the apparent delays in dealing with the LeCompte case, Mr. Braun says the Canadian government has one of the best records for protecting its citizens abroad.
"This country has been willing to stand up for its citizens more than many other countries - sometimes putting at risk relations to other states," he said.
A government issued advisory says accidents are a frequent cause of arrest and detention of Canadians in Cuba, and accidents resulting in death or injury are treated as crimes. The onus is on the driver to prove innocence.
Mr. LeCompte must return to Cuba for a trial, which will determine if he faces any charges for the accident. If he is convicted, the family has been told he could face time in a Cuban prison.