Canada is stuck in the middle of an international tug-of-war between two superpowers, as three of their citizens are being held as political hostages. The United States fired the first shot by ordering the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, by Canadian authorities. China fired back at Canada, not the U.S., by detaining three Canadians living in China. Here's what we know so far about why the U.S. wanted Ms. Meng arrested, how China has retaliated, and how Canada can get itself out of this mess.
The RCMP arrested Ms. Meng Dec. 1 while she was changing flights in Vancouver. She will face hearings in B.C. court that will likely send her to the U.S. to face prosecution. The U.S. government asked Canada to make the arrest, since the two countries have an extradition treaty. Under the Extradition Act, Canada had no choice but to comply. She is being investigated for covering up Huawei’s violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, specifically the use of a shell company in Hong Kong to do business with the Islamic Republic. But there might be another motivation behind the arrest. The U.S. and China are in the middle of heated trade negotiations, and President Trump has publicly suggested his government could intervene in Ms. Meng’s case if it would help secure a deal with China. In other words, Meng Wanzhou is valuable to Mr. Trump because he can use her as leverage to create a more favourable trade agreement. Ms. Meng may simply be a political pawn, her arrest ordered with the purpose of using her as such.
China reacted to the arrest with anger, threatening “serious consequences” unless Canada released Ms. Meng. Now, less than three weeks after Ms. Meng’s arrest, three Canadians living in China have been detained. Two of them, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, are suspected of endangering China’s national security. It is not clear what crime the third detainee, Sarah McIver, is suspected of committing. Though the Chinese have not openly admitted that the detentions are in response to Ms. Meng’s arrest, they have not denied this either. The assumption is that, unless Canada blocks Ms. Meng’s extradition to the U.S., China will continue to hold Mr. Kovrig, Mr. Spavor, and Ms. McIver, and more Canadians in China could face the same fate.
The only Canadian politician who has the power to block the extradition of Ms. Meng to the U.S. is Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. If the British Columbia Supreme Court approves Ms. Meng’s extradition, the Justice Minister will make the final decision whether or not to hand her over to American authorities. If she refuses to extradite Ms. Meng, China will likely be satisfied, and Canadians would no longer be in danger. But extradition hearings can stretch on for years, too long to wait with Canadians being detained on a weekly basis, and since the government is legally required to let the court system follow procedure, it seems there no easy way out of this dilemma. Canada is powerless to protect its own citizens abroad, and this is unacceptable.
One of the primary responsibilities of government in Canada is to protect its people from threats to their security, and in this case it has failed. Canada must learn from this failure to ensure this never happens again. This nightmare started when the RCMP made an arrest under the Extradition Act, which does not give judges any authority to intervene, even if evidence is flimsy. Canada had no choice but to carry out America’s dirty work, risking strained relations with China. Not many predicted such an aggressive response, but now we know to what China is willing to do to protect its own interests. Clearly the Extradition Act has compromised the security of Canadian citizens living in China, and Canada must consider revisions to the Act which give judges the power to refuse extradition in cases like these, where the arrest was likely made with political motivation. If such revisions are not made, Canada will remain in danger of being made a scapegoat over and over, by any foreign government, which would put the safety of its own people at risk.
The RCMP arrested Ms. Meng Dec. 1 while she was changing flights in Vancouver. She will face hearings in B.C. court that will likely send her to the U.S. to face prosecution. The U.S. government asked Canada to make the arrest, since the two countries have an extradition treaty. Under the Extradition Act, Canada had no choice but to comply. She is being investigated for covering up Huawei’s violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, specifically the use of a shell company in Hong Kong to do business with the Islamic Republic. But there might be another motivation behind the arrest. The U.S. and China are in the middle of heated trade negotiations, and President Trump has publicly suggested his government could intervene in Ms. Meng’s case if it would help secure a deal with China. In other words, Meng Wanzhou is valuable to Mr. Trump because he can use her as leverage to create a more favourable trade agreement. Ms. Meng may simply be a political pawn, her arrest ordered with the purpose of using her as such.
China reacted to the arrest with anger, threatening “serious consequences” unless Canada released Ms. Meng. Now, less than three weeks after Ms. Meng’s arrest, three Canadians living in China have been detained. Two of them, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, are suspected of endangering China’s national security. It is not clear what crime the third detainee, Sarah McIver, is suspected of committing. Though the Chinese have not openly admitted that the detentions are in response to Ms. Meng’s arrest, they have not denied this either. The assumption is that, unless Canada blocks Ms. Meng’s extradition to the U.S., China will continue to hold Mr. Kovrig, Mr. Spavor, and Ms. McIver, and more Canadians in China could face the same fate.
The only Canadian politician who has the power to block the extradition of Ms. Meng to the U.S. is Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. If the British Columbia Supreme Court approves Ms. Meng’s extradition, the Justice Minister will make the final decision whether or not to hand her over to American authorities. If she refuses to extradite Ms. Meng, China will likely be satisfied, and Canadians would no longer be in danger. But extradition hearings can stretch on for years, too long to wait with Canadians being detained on a weekly basis, and since the government is legally required to let the court system follow procedure, it seems there no easy way out of this dilemma. Canada is powerless to protect its own citizens abroad, and this is unacceptable.
One of the primary responsibilities of government in Canada is to protect its people from threats to their security, and in this case it has failed. Canada must learn from this failure to ensure this never happens again. This nightmare started when the RCMP made an arrest under the Extradition Act, which does not give judges any authority to intervene, even if evidence is flimsy. Canada had no choice but to carry out America’s dirty work, risking strained relations with China. Not many predicted such an aggressive response, but now we know to what China is willing to do to protect its own interests. Clearly the Extradition Act has compromised the security of Canadian citizens living in China, and Canada must consider revisions to the Act which give judges the power to refuse extradition in cases like these, where the arrest was likely made with political motivation. If such revisions are not made, Canada will remain in danger of being made a scapegoat over and over, by any foreign government, which would put the safety of its own people at risk.
