Top Results For: Michael Kovrig

A Canadian diplomat who spent more than 1,000 days imprisoned in China is urging Ottawa to be cautious about deepening ties with Beijing. Speaking in Ottawa, Michael Kovrig said doing business with China comes with high costs due to its state-controlled system and authoritarian governance.

Canada’s diplomatic reset with China is under scrutiny, as former detainee Michael Kovrig joins Miranda Anthistle to assess Mark Carney’s landmark visit to Beijing. Kovrig reflects on his own detention, the risks and opportunities surrounding renewed engagement, and what real progress might look like.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will arrive in Beijing Wednesday to relieve relations with China that were strained for more than six years under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Cooperation between the two countries has been overshadowed by the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the Meng Wanzhou affair and the disputes over foreign interference.

Canada’s spy chief warned this week that China remains a significant national security threat to Canada. This comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney looks to boost trade with Beijing. Jeff Semple sat down with International Crisis Group adviser Michael Kovrig to ask for his take on Canada’s efforts to renew relations with China.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said his government will not stop standing up for human rights in China — or calling out Beijing for its coercive approach to diplomacy, even as Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig remain detained in China. These remarks come after comments made Thursday by China’s ambassador, which some take...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seeking international support to press China on the cases of the two arbitrarily detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. He arrived at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on June 27.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a media availability at the G20 Summit on Friday that he’s raised the detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are marking 1,000 days of detainment in China. Their arrest is largely seen as retaliation to Canada’s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. As Jeff Semple reports, many people believe a resolution to the Meng case is the only way to bring home the two Michaels.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Sunday that the government “will not rest” until Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are back in Canada, after they were detained in China in December 2018. Sunday marked 1,000 days of their detention.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole was asked about sanctions on China, as Sunday marked 1,000 days of detention for Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. O’Toole said that sanctions would “be meant to highlight the fact that the ‘two Michaels’ are in prison as diplomatic pawns.”

After being detained for 1020 days in Chinese prison, Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are reuniting with their loved ones back home. The timing directly contradicts Beijing’s claims that their detention wasn’t a case of hostage diplomacy, since they were released right after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. She struck a plea deal, ending her...

The release of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and the return of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig has ended a tense chapter in Canada-China relations. But, is it enough to repair the deeply damaged relationship between the two? Eric Sorensen looks at the geopolitical implications and the uncertainty that lies ahead.

‘The West Block’ host Mercedes Stephenson is joined by Michael Kovrig and his family, just hours after he set foot on Canadian soil after 1,020 days in a Chinese prison. Plus, Stephenson speaks with Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau on the release of the two Michaels and how Canada proceeds in relations with China. Also,...

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to Beijing on Friday at the invitation of China, after years of diplomatic strain between the two countries following the detention of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

The federal government is mounting more pressure on the Chinese government to release two detained Canadians. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Mike Le Couteur reports.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have met in Washington, with Pompeo publicly calling for the release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the two Canadians detained in China. So will the U.S. step up and help its northern neighbour? Jackson Proskow reports.

Ottawa has not been able to make contact with either Michael Kovrig or Michael Spavor, the two Canadians being detained in China. As Abigail Bimman reports, family and friends of the men are increasingly concerned.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained Wednesday why the detainment of a third Canadian by China was different than that of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, saying it was about routine matters and not national security amid controversy over Canada’s earlier arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.

Ti-Anna Wang, who was detained by Chinese authorities briefly this week, said Friday that the recent detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor validate what her family “already know” about China’s detention policy and that it puts more pressure on Canada to intervene.

Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, is the first witness who testified at a new, special House of Commons committee on Canada-China relations. Mercedes Stephenson reports on what Barton said about Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the two Canadians who have been detained in China for more than a year.