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.

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.

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the two Canadians detained in China for several months have now been formally arrested for spying. An action Canada has strongly condemned and says is connected to the arrest and detention of Huawei’s top executive, Meng Wanzhou. David Akin explains.

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.

Marilou McPhedran, Manitoba senator and human rights lawyer, joins Mercedes Stephenson to talk about the detainment of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in China and why she signed a letter calling on the prime minister to invoke Magnitsky sanctions against some Chinese officials.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained in China for over a year and a half. Vina Nadjibulla, Spavor’s wife, joins Mercedes Stephenson to talk about potential next steps to bring her husband and Michael Spavor home.

Michael Kovrig’s wife, Vina Nadjibulla, told The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that Canada needs “more leverage” in its fight to secure the release of both Kovrig and Michael Spavor. She commented on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejecting calls for a possible prisoner swap, in which he said doing so would endanger other Canadians travelling abroad...

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday that she was ‘heartbroken and really angry’ when she learned about China’s decision to lay formal charges against Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor who have been detained in China for over a year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he is “disappointed” in China’s decision to formally lay charges against Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians in “arbitrary detention” in China for well over a year, on allegations of espionage. Trudeau says Canada will continue to advocate for their release.

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,...