Canada and China were involved in a war of words at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday over the detentions of their citizens who were released over the weekend in an apparent prisoner swap.
Speaking on the closing day of the 76th session of the UNGA in New York, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau thanked international allies for their support in the case of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who returned to Canada after nearly three years in Chinese detention.
The announcement of their release by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday night came hours after a deferred prosecution agreement in the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was accused of committing fraud in order to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Garneau told the UNGA that Canada applied both Canadian and international law in response to the U.S. request for extradition of Meng, and that the “two Michaels,” as they are known, paid a “heavy price” for Canada’s commitment to the rule of law.
“We continue to oppose the way these two citizens were treated,” Garneau said, adding that Canada “will never forget this experience.”
2:28 Canada and China’s relationship status after Meng, 2 Michaels return home: it’s complicated
Canada and China’s relationship status after Meng, 2 Michaels return home: it’s complicated
China has long maintained that there is no connection between Meng’s case and that of Spavor and Kovrig, who were arrested over espionage charges just days after the Huawei executive’s apprehension.
Using the right to reply at the UNGA, a representative for China’s UN mission, speaking shortly after Garneau’s address, said Meng’s case is “completely different” to the Canadian men.
He accused the U.S. and Canada of arbitrarily detaining Meng, categorizing it as a “complete political incident and frame-up.”
“We hope that Canada can face up to the facts squarely, correct their mistakes and draw lessons from what happened so that they could not make further mistakes,” the Chinese diplomat added.
Exercising its own right to reply, a representative for Canada’s UN mission said the “two Michaels” did not benefit from a similar degree of transparency, respect, due process or judicial independence as Meng did.
Meng was kept under house arrest in one of her Vancouver mansions, while the two Canadians faced harsh conditions in Chinese detention — where they had limited access to the outside world and their families.
“We continue to oppose the way these Canadian citizens were treated and we will continue to speak out against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations,” the Canadian diplomat added.
The Chinese representative fired back a final time, saying China could not accept what the Canadian representative said.
“Facts cannot be denied,” he said.
4:45 Analysing Canada-China relations after return of the two Michaels
Analysing Canada-China relations after return of the two Michaels
Kovrig and Spavor’s safe return to Canada on Saturday, where they were greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Calgary, marked an end to a tense international stand-off that has strained ties between Ottawa and Beijing.
In another twist earlier on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Spavor and Kovrig were released on bail for health reasons.
China released the two Canadians on bail after a “diagnosis by professional medical institutions, and with the guarantee of the Canadian ambassador to China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing.
In an interview with the Global News on Sunday, Garneau said the federal government’s “eyes are wide open” when it comes to China.
“It’s an eyes-wide-open policy with respect to (the Chinese government),” Garneau told Mercedes Stephenson during an episode of Global News’ The West Block. He added that the arbitrary detention of the “two Michaels” had ground Canada’s relationship with China to a halt.
However, the country’s relationship with China is continually evolving, said Garneau, and the two will still “co-exist.”
“We will compete. We will cooperate in areas where we need to cooperate, such as climate change, and we will challenge China, whether it’s on human rights or whether it’s on arbitrary detention, when appropriate,” he said.
— with files from Global News’ Emerald Bensadoun, The Canadian Press and Associated Press
Montreal’s mayor says a welcome sign depicting a woman wearing a veil that adorns a lobby at city hall will be taken down in the name of secularism.
Valérie Plante said during a talk show that aired Sunday night that the image of the woman wearing a hijab will be removed because of the “discomfort” it causes but also because institutions must strive to be secular.
The welcome sign, as well as a photo in a public library of a young girl wearing a headscarf, has been criticized in the media, and the Parti Québécois has said the two images show that religion has begun invading the public sphere.
Plante told Radio-Canada talk show “Tout le monde en parle” that she understands the discomfort with the welcome sign, adding that it’s possible to promote diversity as well as secularism.
The subject of religion in the public sphere has resurfaced in recent weeks after 11 teachers were suspended at a Montreal public elementary school over allegations of toxicity and creeping religious instruction.
The mayor’s office said today it had nothing further to add about Plante’s appearance on the talk show, which came just days after she announced she wouldn’t seek a third term as mayor in next year’s elections.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
OTTAWA – Former senator Mobina Jaffer says she was told by the Sudanese intelligence director that he felt Canadian officials had asked him to detain Montreal man Abousfian Abdelrazik.
Jaffer, who retired from the Senate earlier this year, testified today in Federal Court in Abdelrazik’s lawsuit against Ottawa over his detention and alleged torture in Sudanese custody two decades ago.
She recalled her September 2004 meeting in Sudan with Salah Gosh, who was then the director of the country’s intelligence service.
Jaffer, Canada’s special envoy for peace in Sudan at the time, said Gosh told her Canada thought Abdelrazik was a terrorist and wanted him to find out if he was indeed an extremist.
She said Gosh informed her Sudanese intelligence tried “all kinds of ways” to find out, but was completely satisfied he was not a terrorist, and that it was time for Canada to take him back.
Jaffer said it was no secret the intelligence service used brutal methods, so she immediately knew that Abdelrazik did not have a pleasant experience in custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Parti Québécois says it would lean on robots and automation to replace temporary workers as part of a detailed proposal to cut immigration to Quebec.
Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says it’s a lie that immigration can fix labour shortages, adding that Quebec should instead follow the lead of countries like Japan and China that have invested heavily in robotics and artificial intelligence.
The sovereigntist opposition party wants to cut the number of non-permanent residents in the province to 250,000 or 300,000, down from 600,000 today.
In a policy paper published this morning, the party says it would create a special fund for the automation of sectors affected by labour shortages, including manufacturing and retail.
St-Pierre Plamondon says Quebec’s existing immigration system puts pressure on housing and threatens the French language, and he also wants to cut the number of permanent immigrants to Quebec to 35,000 from 50,000 annually.
The PQ leader says Quebec will only attain a viable immigration model if the province achieves independence from Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
