Extradition cases never dropped for diplomatic reasons, PM was advised

OTTAWA — The section of Canada’s extradition law that the federal government is being urged to apply to drop the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou has rarely been used — and never for diplomatic or political reasons.

That was the advice given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by his national security adviser shortly after the Huawei executive was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States.

In apparent retaliation, China soon after arbitrarily detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who’ve remained in prison while Meng’s case wends its way slowly through court.

Trudeau is under pressure from Kovrig’s family and 19 prominent former politicians, diplomats and jurists to terminate extradition proceedings against Meng in hopes that China will free the two Michaels. They point out that Section 23 (3) of the Extradition Act gives the federal justice minister the power to halt extradition proceedings at any time without having to give a reason.

But in a memorandum to Trudeau shortly after Meng’s arrest, his national security adviser at the time, Greta Bossenmaier, pointed out the section had rarely been used in the preceding 10 years.

The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law, said Canada receives about 100 requests for extradition every year from foreign countries, about 60 per cent of which eventually result in extradition of the sought-after individuals.

Since 2008, Bossenmaier said only 12 cases — nine of them initiated by the U.S. — had been discharged or terminated by the justice minister.

The grounds for dropping the cases varied but she added: “Note there are no examples of the minister discharging a case for political or diplomatic reasons.”

The memo detailed the reasons for each of the 12 dropped cases, including severe health problems, the minor nature of the alleged offences, unreasonable delay in seeking extradition and, in one case involving Romania, a serious risk of persecution if the sought-after person was extradited to that country.

Two cases involving minors were also dropped as was another in which the requesting country failed to provide unspecified “assurances.”

Canada will not, for instance, extradite someone without assurances they won’t face a death penalty.

It is the prospect of Kovrig and Spavor essentially being held hostage by China as long as Meng’s case remains unresolved that prompted the 19 eminent Canadians — including former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former Liberal justice minister Allan Rock, former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and two former chiefs of staff to Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney — to write Trudeau this week urging the extradition proceedings against her be dropped.

Trudeau flatly rejected that appeal Thursday, arguing that giving China what it wants would encourage it and other countries to engage in hostage diplomacy, putting millions of Canadians abroad at risk.