Trudeau shuts down question about trading Huawei’s Meng for 2 Michaels

UPDATED: A reporter asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about whether Canada is considering trading Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou for Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor (aka the two Michaels), who are being detained in Beijing on suspicion of espionage. Their detention is widely regarded as retaliation for the detention of Meng, who was arrested by the RCMP on Dec. 1 at the request of the U.S. and “was charged with conspiracy to defraud multiple institutions.” The prisoner trade has, according to the Global TV reporter who posed the question to Trudeau, been proposed by some Liberals including former deputy prime minister John Manley as a “hard-ball” tactic to get the two Michaels home.

“No, we’re not considering that,” Justin Trudeau said. “Canada has a strong and independent justice justice system. We will ensure that it goes through its proper forces. Anyone who is considering weakening our values or weakening the independence of our justice system doesn’t understand the importance of standing strong on our principles and values.”

On June 25, Trudeau was asked again about engaging in hostage diplomacy, and responded with the following statement:

“Randomly arresting Canadians doesn’t give you leverage over the government of Canada anywhere in the world.”

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