Canada’s position as helpless spectators in China dispute was avoidable

Amid the righteous indignation that Canadians have expressed over the detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and the death sentence hanging over the head of Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, Canadians should spare some of their indignation for their own government. The Chinese state may have exposed its callous disregard for dignity and human rights, but we should not have exposed ourselves as helpless spectators. Sentiment aside, the government should have been prepared instead of finding itself in a whirlwind without a compass. Contrary to protestations of the rule of law, extradition is at the political discretion of the government both at the beginning, when a warrant must be signed by Canada's attorney general, and at the end, when a prisoner is handed over. The Chinese government knows this. The detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was no routine criminal arrest. She is the chief financial officer of one of China’s leading technology companies at a time when the U.S. and China are locked in a struggle over trade and technology and a historic battle over global supremacy. Beijing has every reason to be infuriated by the smug reaction of Ottawa and its protestations about the rule of law. When it comes to its basic interests, China is an unsentimental great power. Some of the fury expressed by the Chinese foreign ministry is cover for its own incompetence. Ms. Meng was indicted in the Eastern District of New York last August. Every Canadian knows if you fly over U.S. airspace, the airline is obliged to hand over your passport number to the airline for transmission to U.S. authorities. That is why both Canada and the U.S. knew Ms Meng was flying through Vancouver, and the Chinese consulate in New York should have warned its headquarters in Beijing what might be coming down the line. Ms. Meng’s detention was bound to provoke the Chinese authorities. John Manley, the former Foreign Affairs minister, is right to question our government. Imagine if Sheryl Sandberg had been arrested during a layover in Vancouver. This happened right in the middle of a crucial trade dispute between China and the U.S. where technology was the most important item. Consciously or unconsciously, the Trudeau government made a discretionary political choice. John McCallum, now Canada’s former ambassador to China, correctly pointed out—even if he did so publicly at the wrong time and place—that Ms. Meng has a case. Absent evidence to the contrary, China takes this as proof that Canada is siding with the U.S. and colluding in the pressure against it. Nothing the Canadian government has done since the crisis has unfolded has been calculated to convince them otherwise. Had I been prime minister as soon as the two Michaels had been detained, I would have dispatched Jean Chrétien or some other distinguished, special envoy respected by China to repair the relationship before it deteriorated further. With other Canadians, I have been dismayed by the reaction of the Chinese government and outraged by the statements of the Chinese ambassador effectively colluding in setting back our bilateral relationship by decades. A veil has been torn from the eyes of many friends of China with respect to Xi Jinping and his regime. The tragedy is that we need sustained multilateral pressure on China to abide by the rule of law, not tit-for-tat measures in a heedless march to a new Cold War. It is in no one’s interest to let this become the Gouzenko affair of the 21st Century. In a better world, we in the West would co-operate on multilateral measures to govern trade in technology and make concerted effort to get the Chinese government to comply with a rules-based order internationally. This can only happen through consistent reminders to Beijing that trust in its capacity to live within the rules will be measured by its behaviour where it counts—at home. Unfortunately, we have no partner in Washington to achieve that. Furthermore, anyone who looks for gratitude from the White House should seek advice from former U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson and former U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions. To paraphrase what U.S. president Harry Truman said about a kinder era in U.S. politics, “if you want loyalty in Washington, get a dog.” For this reason, the official opposition has no more hope of resolving this crisis than former prime minister Stephen Harper had with the release of the Garratts or Huseyin Celil, who were imprisoned in China. Our other allies in Europe and the U.K. are too preoccupied with their own issues to come to our support. Mr.l Kovrig cannot rely on lip service. Whatever leverage we once had with China is lost. If we as Canadians want to pry open the jaws between the hammer of U.S. trade policy and the anvil of Chinese competition for supremacy, we must offer something in return. Our only hope is to convince Mr. Xi that if he wants to prevent a new Cold War, he should release his hostages and work constructively with us to establish a more robust rules-based order in an interdependent world where we stand mutual surety for human dignity. Jeremy Paltiel is a professor of political science at Carleton University. The Hill Times

Canada’s position as helpless spectators in China dispute was avoidable

As soon as the two Michaels had been detained, the prime minister should have dispatched a special envoy to China to repair the relationship before it deteriorated further.

How can Ontario achieve net zero, with greater energy reliability and resilience? Roadmap to a clean energy future

It’s time to unleash Canada’s energy advantage

Language matters: measuring what you are versus what you are not

The Federal Court decision to overturn the single-use plastic ban is a step backwards for the planet—and our health

Is it better to talk about unity and not practise it, or not talk about it at all?

Poilievre’s miscues won’t save Trudeau

Politics This Morning: Spavor, Kovrig back on Canadian soil after nearly three years in Chinese custody

A thousand days pass with Kovrig and Spavor in prison

Chinese ambassador says some politicians putting ‘personal political interests’ above Canada-China relationship

‘A mock, sham trial’: Canada denounces China’s 11-year sentence for Michael Spavor, but muted on path for release

Settling Spavor’s prison sentence will take political will

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Canada’s position as helpless spectators in China dispute was avoidable

As soon as the two Michaels had been detained, the prime minister should have dispatched a special envoy to China to repair the relationship before it deteriorated further.

Get The Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Newsletter