U.S. Secretary of State meeting with Trudeau and cabinet

Antony Blinken will meet virtually today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a day of online diplomacy for the U.S. secretary of state.

Blinken will meet with Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and other members of the federal cabinet, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

The visit will follow up on Trudeau’s own summit this week with U.S. President Joe Biden, which produced a “road map” for

plans to collaborate on issues like climate change, the economy and COVID-19.

“We are neighbours, friends and allies,” Price said.

Agenda items also include “defending human rights in the Western Hemisphere and around the world, and bolstering our shared defence and security.”

That means the conversations will likely include the plight of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, two Canadians who have spent the last two years in custody in China.

Spavor and Kovrig - the “two Michaels,” as they are known in Canada - were swept up in the weeks that followed Canada’s

arrest in December 2018 of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei and daughter of the company’s founder.

Meng is facing extradition to the U.S., where she has been charged with violating sanctions against Iran - a case some observers believe is sure to keep the two Michaels behind bars indefinitely.

On Tuesday, Biden vowed to work with Canada to secure their release, but offered no clues as to what specifically the U.S. is prepared to do.

Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi would only say the U.S. will “continue to seek extradition.”