Antony Blinken told CBC that he has been advocating for the release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in talks with Chinese counterparts
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National Post Staff
Publishing date:
Feb 28, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 4 minute read • 31 Comments
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Top politicians in the United States and Canada sounded off on China on the weekend, condemning the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and signalling plans to co-operate in securing the release of the two Canadians.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the detentions “totally unacceptable,” in an interview with CBC News aired on Sunday.
“Using people, human beings, as pawns for political purposes, it is totally unacceptable conduct by any country,” said Blinken, who met virtually with Canadian officials on Friday as part of a round of talks last week between the Canadian federal government and U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration.
Kovrig and Spavor, known in Canada as the two Michaels, have been detained in China on espionage charges since December 2018. Canadian officials have decried their detention as political retribution or “hostage diplomacy” by China, since their arrests came shortly after the RCMP detained Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, on an extradition request from the United States.
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Using people, human beings, as pawns for political purposes, it is totally unacceptable conduct by any country
“We stand strongly with Canada when it comes to the need to see the two Michaels released immediately and unconditionally,” Blinken told CBC. “We will continue to stand with Canada on that. I’ve made that clear in my own conversations with Chinese counterparts and we look forward to the day when they’re able to return home.”
Blinken’s comments on the matter echoed those of Biden, who pledged to help bring back the two Canadians during his summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week.
“Human beings are not bartering chips,” Biden said. “We’re going to work together until we get their safe return.”
But it’s not clear exactly how the two nations will achieve that.
“These are processes that are ongoing,” Trudeau told a news conference on Friday. “The United States is taking their role in this very seriously and we look forward to working with them on bringing the two Michaels home as soon as possible.”
Blinken has repeatedly declined to comment on questions about whether the U.S. is considering a so-called deferred prosecution agreement — a form of plea deal that could allow Meng to return to China in return for an admission of wrongdoing.
Last week, a Justice Department spokesman confirmed to The Canadian Press that prosecutors were continuing to seek Meng’s extradition to the U.S., where she is facing fraud charges.
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In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press that aired on Sunday, Trudeau said Canada will honour its extradition treaty, accusing China of using “trumped-up” charges “to try and pressure us to release” Meng.
“The relationship with China in Canada is deeply coloured by the fact that they have arbitrarily detained two Canadian citizens, simply because we lived up to an extradition treaty with the United States,” he said in the pre-taped interview.
“They, shortly afterwards, arrested two Canadian citizens on national security trumped-up charges and have detained them for about 800 days and counting now, in an attempt to try and pressure us to release the executive. We, of course, are a country of the rule of law. We will not do that. We live by our treaties and live by the rule of law.”
We, of course, are a country of the rule of law. We will not do that. We live by our treaties and live by the rule of law
Trudeau said his talks with Biden were “very positive in us working together to try and resolve this situation and hold China to account.”
After his meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau on Friday, Blinken praised the Canadian government’s work on snuffing out politically motivated imprisonment around the globe, by getting countries to sign onto its Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention.
The declaration, a project initiated by former foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne, is from a coalition of more than 50 countries opposed to the state-sponsored political detention of foreign nationals.
“Obviously we have to focus on bringing the two Michaels home, but more broadly we have to work together to establish a basic norm in international conduct that this is simply unacceptable,” Blinken told CBC on Sunday. “That takes time. It takes effort — it takes sustained effort.”
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Over the weekend, Michael Kovrig’s wife, Vina Nadjibulla, told Global News that she hopes the government will “seize this moment” and convert the fresh U.S. support into action.
“What I took away from that is that President Biden has compassion for the unjust suffering that our Michael and Michael Spavor are going through, as well as that he understands that Canada has been paying a really high price since it accepted the extradition request from the U.S. two years ago,” she said.
Asked how her husband was doing, Nadjibulla said she has received letters from him and noted “he is staying mentally strong.”
“His situation is so incredibly, unspeakably difficult and he continues to stay focused on what he can control,” she said.
—With files from The Canadian Press
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For Brad Marchand, right now, it’s all about Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You see the excitement they have all throughout Canada when they’re in playoffs,” Marchand said Thursday. “Makes it a lot of fun to play them. And I think, just with the history we’ve had with them recently, they’re probably our biggest rival right now over the last decade.
“They’ve probably surpassed Montreal and any other team with kind of where our rivalry’s gone, just because we’ve both been so competitive with each other, and we’ve had a few playoff series. It definitely brings the emotion, the intensity, up in the games and the excitement for the fans.
“It’s a lot of fun to play them.”
The Bruins and Maple Leafs will renew their rivalry in their first round series, which starts Saturday at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS). They’ll be familiar opponents.
Over the past 11 seasons, the Bruins have faced the Maple Leafs four times in the postseason, starting with the epic 2013 matchup in the first round. That resulted in an all-time instant classic, the Game 7 in which the Bruins were down 4-1 in the third period and came roaring back for an overtime win that helped propel them to the Stanely Cup Final.
That would prove to be the model and, in the intervening years, the Bruins have beaten them in each of the three subsequent series, including going to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2018 and 2019.
Which could easily be where this series is going.
“Offensively they’re a gifted hockey club,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Thursday. “They present a lot of challenges down around the netfront area. We’re going to have to be really sharp there. We’re a pretty good team defensively when we stick to what our principles are. So I expect it to be a tight series overall.”
But if anyone knows the Maple Leafs — and what to expect — it’s Marchand. In his career, he’s played 146 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 11th most of any active player. Twenty-one of those games have come against the Maple Leafs, games in which Marchand has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).
“They’re always extremely competitive,” Marchand said. “You never know which way the series is going to go. But that’s what you want. That’s what you love about hockey is the competition aspect. They’re real competitors over there, especially the way they’re built right now. So it’s going to be a lot of fun, and that’s what playoffs is about. It’s about the best teams going head-to-head.”
But even though the history favors the Bruins — including having won each of the past six playoff matchups, dating back to the NHL’s expansion era in 1967-68 and each of the four regular-season games in 2023-24 — Marchand is throwing that out the window.
“That means nothing,” he said.
The Maple Leafs bring the No. 2 offense in the NHL into their series, having scored 3.63 goals per game. They were led by Auston Matthews and his 69 goals this season, a new record for him and for the franchise.
“You have to be hard on a guy like that and limit his time and space with the puck,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “He’s really good at getting in position to receive the puck and he’s got linemates who can put it right on his tape for him. You’ve just got to know where he is, especially in our D zone. He likes to loop away after cycling it and kind of find that sweet spot coming down Broadway there in the middle. It’s not just a one-person job.”
Nor is Matthews their only threat.
“They have a lot of great players, skill players, who play hard and can be very dangerous around the net and create scoring opportunities,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “You’ve just got to be aware of who’s out there and who you’re against, who you’re matched up against, and play hard. Also, too, we’ve got to focus on our game and what we do well and when we do that, we trust each other and have that belief in each other, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”
Especially against the Maple Leafs.
Marchand, who grew up in Halifax loving the Maple Leafs, still gets a thrill to see their alumni walking around Scotiabank Arena in the playoffs. And it’s even more special to be on the ice with them, to be competing against them — even more so when the Bruins keep winning.
But that certainly doesn’t mean this series will be easy.
“They’ll be a [heck] of a challenge,” Marchand said.
The chase for Lord Stanley’s silver chalice will begin on Saturday.
After what could be described as the most exciting season in NHL history that saw heartbreaks and last-ditch efforts to clinch playoff spots, players and staff now get ready as 16 teams go to battle.
We saw the Vancouver Canucks have a massive year and finish first in the Pacific Division with captain Quinn Hughes leading all defensemen in points. The Winnipeg Jets set a franchise record for most points. The Nashville Predators went on a franchise-record winning streak in order to lock themselves into a Wild Card spot, and the Washington Capitals clinched the last Wild Card spot in the East after a wild finish that saw the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers see their playoff hopes crumble in front of them.
While Auston Matthews missed out on scoring 70 goals, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning standout Nikita Kucherov became the first players since 1990-91 to record 100 assists in a single season. They joined Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as the only players to do so.
With the bracket set, it’s time to expect the unexpected.
Here is the schedule for Round 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Eastern Conference
#A1 Florida Panthers vs. #WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
Date
Game
Time
Sunday, April 21
1. Tampa at Florida
12:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 23
2. Tampa at Florida
7:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, April 25
3. Florida at Tampa
7 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27
4. Florida at Tampa
5 p.m. ET
Monday, April 29
5. Tampa at Florida
TBD
Wednesday, May 1
6. Florida at Tampa
TBD
Saturday, May 4
7. Tampa at Florida
TBD
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
Date
Game
Time
Saturday, April 20
1. Toronto at Boston
8 p.m. ET
Monday, April 22
2. Toronto at Boston
7 p.m. ET
Wednesday, April 24
3. Boston at Toronto
7 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27
4. Boston at Toronto
8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 30
5. Toronto at Boston
TBD
Thursday, May 2
6. Boston at Toronto
TBD
Saturday, May 4
7. Toronto at Boston
TBD
#M1 New York Rangers vs. #WC2 Washington Capitals
Date
Game
Time
Sunday, April 21
1. Washington at New York
3 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 23
2. Washington at New York
7 p.m. ET
Friday, April 26
2. New York at Washington
7 p.m. ET
Sunday, April 28
2. New York at Washington
8 p.m. ET
Wednesday, May 1
2. Washington at New York
TBD
Friday, May 3
2. New York at Washington
TBD
Sunday, May 5
2. Washington at New York
TBD
#M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #M3 New York Islanders
Date
Game
Time
Saturday, April 20
1. New York at Carolina
5 p.m. ET
Monday, April 22
2. New York at Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, April 25
3. Carolina at New York
7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27
4. Carolina at New York
2 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 30
5. New York at Carolina
TBD
Thursday, May 2
6. Carolina at New York
TBD
Saturday, May 4
7. New York at Carolina
TBD
Western Conference
#C1 Dallas Stars vs. #WC2 Vegas Golden Knights
Date
Game
Time
Monday, April 22
1. Vegas at Dallas
9:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday, April 24
2. Vegas at Dallas
9:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 27
3. Dallas at Vegas
10:30 p.m. ET
Monday, April 29
4. Dallas at Vegas
TBD
Wednesday, May 1
5. Vegas at Dallas
TBD
Friday, May 3
6. Dallas at Vegas
TBD
Sunday, May 5
7. Vegas at Dallas
TBD
#C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. #C3 Colorado Avalanche
Date
Game
Time
Sunday, April 21
1. Colorado at Winnipeg
7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 23
2. Colorado at Winnipeg
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, April 26
3. Winnipeg at Colorado
10 p.m. ET
Sunday, April 28
4. Winnipeg at Colorado
2:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, April 30
5. Colorado at Winnipeg
TBD
Thursday, May 2
6. Winnipeg at Colorado
TBD
Saturday, May 4
7. Colorado at Winnipeg
TBD
#P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #WC1 Nashville Predators