Western Standard - March 24, 2023


Open, independent, public inquiry NOW


Episode Stats


Length

5 minutes

Words per minute

134.33385

Word count

731

Sentence count

45


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Learn English with Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystian Chait. Honourable Chait speaks on the release of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were held in China for over a year.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 For a thousand days, a thousand days, the two Michaels sat hopeless in a windowless cell fed in doggy bowls that were slid under their door, going eight months without seeing consular support.
00:00:15.000 Yet, according to Global News, a Liberal MP allegedly contacted the Chinese consulate and encouraged them to delay the release of these two Michaels for partisan liberal gain.
00:00:30.440 The intelligence services that came up with this information to the media would have told the Prime Minister. When did they tell him?
00:00:37.140 The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs.
00:00:40.660 Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me be clear. Bring back the two Michaels.
00:00:44.500 Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor was the outmost priority of this government, of all members of this House, of all Canadians across the country.
00:00:55.500 For two years, we've worked tirelessly to make sure that these two Michaels, which were arbitrarily detained by China, would be coming back safe home.
00:01:06.500 That's what we did. And that was the only priority. Thinking otherwise is actually false.
00:01:12.500 We have two members of our National Security Services that have told the media that a Liberal MP told the Chinese not to release the two Michaels.
00:01:28.500 I've now twice asked when the Prime Minister, his office, or his department were informed of this startling revelation.
00:01:41.500 So I'm going to ask a third time, and I ask the Minister to answer when did the Prime Minister become aware of these allegations. When?
00:01:49.500 The Honourable Minister.
00:01:50.500 Mr. Speaker, September 24, 2021 was a great day for Canada.
00:02:00.500 It was the day when the two Michaels, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, came back safely home to Canada.
00:02:07.500 And I think it was a day when this government, all members of this House, all Canadians were proud of what we've done because, indeed, the two Michaels were arbitrarily detained for too long in China.
00:02:23.500 And, Mr. Speaker, this will always be our priority as a government. We will always stand up against any form of arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations.
00:02:34.500 The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
00:02:38.500 This non-answer is extremely troubling.
00:02:43.500 We have revelations from Canada's top security forces told the media that a Liberal MP asked the Chinese Consulate to keep two Canadians in torture in a windowless cell.
00:03:00.500 I asked already, three times, when did the Prime Minister become aware of these revelations?
00:03:11.500 I ask again, when?
00:03:14.500 The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs.
00:03:18.500 Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all the members of this House that were involved in making sure that we could raise the case of the two Michaels for two years.
00:03:26.500 Because we worked with friends and allies, different states around the world, to make sure that we could advocate their case and that on September 24, 2021, they would be coming back here in Canada.
00:03:40.500 And so, in that sense, we will always stand up against any form of arbitrary detention.
00:03:44.500 This is part of our priority in terms of foreign policy.
00:03:49.500 In April, in Toronto, we will be hosting an arbitrary detention summit because the world needs to know that what happened to the two Michaels was unacceptable.
00:03:57.500 The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
00:03:59.500 The importance of this question cannot be overstated.
00:04:05.500 If the Prime Minister knew that a member of his Liberal caucus was working to keep two Canadian citizens arbitrarily and illegally incarcerated in windowless cells, potentially being tortured, he knew that and did nothing.
00:04:23.500 That would be a devastating scandal against our national interests.
00:04:28.500 So, I am simply asking for the Government to clarify.
00:04:32.500 On what date did the Prime Minister find out the revelations that one of his MPs may have helped keep our people in jail?
00:04:41.500 The Honourable Minister.
00:04:42.500 Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister knew very well what was happening to the two Michaels and made sure that his Government would be standing up against China in the context of their arbitrary detention.
00:04:58.500 And so, in that sense, we will never accept any form of premise that this Government and Canadians didn't work enough to bring them back home.
00:05:08.500 It was our priority and you can be convinced that it will always be our priority when it comes to any form of consular cases or any form of arbitrary detained Canadians in this world.
00:05:21.500 You can become a Western Centre member for just $10 a month or $99 a year for unlimited access.