The comments come as the trials for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been detained since 2018, are starting to get underway. While Kovrig’s trial is scheduled for Monday, Spavor appeared before the Chinese courts Thursday night. His closed-door trial lasted just two hours and ended without a verdict.
“Let me be very clear. Their arbitrary detention is completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings,” Trudeau said, speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Friday.
He added that Canada’s “top priority” remains securing the release of Spavor and Kovrig.
Story continues below advertisement
“We will continue to work tirelessly to bring them home as soon as possible,” Trudeau said.
2:01 Trudeau refuses to trade Meng for Spavor, Kovrig
Trudeau refuses to trade Meng for Spavor, Kovrig
“Going forward, we will continue to be in close contact with the families during this difficult time. To their loved ones, know that today and every day, Canadians are with you and are thinking of both Michaels.”
Trudeau isn’t the first to issue a rebuke of China’s shadowy handling of the trials. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Garneau called also the detentions “arbitrary” and said he remains “deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings.”
The Chinese government was angered by the comments, issuing a press release Friday morning that called Canada “hypocritical and arrogant” over its criticism of China’s handling of the arbitrary detentions.
“On the one hand, the Canadian side claims that it upholds the rule of law, but on the other hand, it makes irresponsible remarks with regards to China’s handling relevant cases in accordance with law,” read a statement from a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada, sent to Global News.
Trudeau responded to China’s statement on Friday, rebuking the notion that Canada has anything but respect for the rule of law.
“Canada is a country of the rule of law. We move forward in full respect of that rule of law, and we move forward in full transparency,” he said.
1:46 2 Michaels: What comes next after Michael Spavor’s trial ends in just two hours?
2 Michaels: What comes next after Michael Spavor’s trial ends in just two hours?
When pressed on whether he believes China will give Spavor and Kovrig fair trials, Trudeau explained that the closed-door nature of the hearings leaves Canada in the dark.
“One of the challenges around the lack of transparency on that process is it becomes extremely difficult to make judgments around whether or not the trial was fair,” Trudeau replied.
Story continues below advertisement
“I’m going to continue to advocate for the release of these two Michaels who have been arbitrarily detained and push for transparency around the processes by which these trials are ongoing”
“We know that unlike Canada, China’s courts are not based on the rule of law and we have little confidence that Mr. Spavor received a fair trial,” read a statement from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong.
“We continue to demand that the Chinese Communist regime end the arbitrary and unlawful detention of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor.”
Thursday night, the Canadian Embassy’s deputy chief of mission Jim Nickel knocked on the Chinese courthouse door ahead of Spavor’s trial, but was refused entry. While he was told when the trial would start, he was left in the dark when it came to the duration of the trial or when a verdict would be announced.
0:39 China says it ‘fully’ safeguards rights of ‘2 Michaels’ after report that trial will come soon
China says it ‘fully’ safeguards rights of ‘2 Michaels’ after report that trial will come soon – Mar 12, 2021
Media and the public were also barred from the room, with China citing the “state secrets” involved in the case as justification.
Story continues below advertisement
Meanwhile, China has called Canadian criticism of the lack of transparency and overall arbitrary nature of the arrests “fact-distorting.”
“The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition,” the embassy spokesperson said.
Both Spavor and Kovrig have been accused of espionage, a crime that is punishable in China by life in prison with a minimum sentence of 10 years. Chinese courts boast a 99.7 per cent conviction rate, meaning that once a trial is commenced, the odds are the two being convicted are all but a guarantee.
The two Canadians were detained in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. The arrest was at the behest of the United States, which had requested her extradition.
1:17 Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are casting doubts about who knew what in her extradition case.
Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou are casting doubts about who knew what in her extradition case – Mar 1, 2021
In a statement issued just hours after Canadian officials, the media and the public were barred from attending Spavor’s trial, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy insisted that China is “a country with rule of law.”
Story continues below advertisement
“When it comes to arbitrary detention, Ms. Meng Wanzhou has been arbitrarily detained for over two years despite the fact that she hasn’t violated any Canadian law. This is arbitrary detention in every sense of the term,” they said, despite the fact that Canada was fulfilling its extradition obligations with the United States.
“We urge the Canadian side to earnestly respect China’s judicial sovereignty and stop making irresponsible remarks and interfering in China’s handling of cases in accordance with law in any form.”
As China continues to link Meng’s arrest to the cases of the two detained Canadians, Garneau said the arbitrary detentions of the two Canadians remain a “top priority” for the Canadian government.
“We continue to work tirelessly to secure their immediate release,” he said.
As part of Canada’s effort to free the two detained Canadians, Canada has been pushing allies to raise the plights of Spavor and Kovrig in their own bilateral discussions with China.
“China needs to understand that it is not just about two Canadians, it is about the respect for the rule of law and relationships with a broad range of Western countries that is at play with the arbitrary detention and the coercive diplomacy they have engaged in,” Trudeau said.
Story continues below advertisement
6:38 Michael Kovrig’s wife says she hopes Biden’s ‘powerful’ words will lead to action
Michael Kovrig’s wife says she hopes Biden’s ‘powerful’ words will lead to action – Feb 28, 2021
Given the U.S. extradition order at the center of Meng’s arrest, experts have said that the United States could be the key to cooling off the boiling tensions between Canada and China.
“We have nothing on the table with regard to Kovrig and Spavor,” said Charles Burton, a senior fellow and China expert at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
“So it does seem to me that Canada is more or less standing idly by while the United States and China try and sort this matter out.”
High-level U.S. officials are currently meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska, where Trudeau said Friday that he has “confidence” the issue of the two detained Canadians will be raised.
Story continues below advertisement
Following a meeting with Trudeau in late February, U.S. President Joe Biden said the two countries are working together to try to secure the release of the two detained Canadians.
“Human beings are not bartering chips,” Biden said.
“We’re going to work together until we get their safe return.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
