The Two Michaels: Gratitude or What Took You So Long? appears to be a partisan position.
It does not take much speculation to conclude that the release of the two Michaels immediately after the release of Meng Wanzhou was brokered by the United States under President Biden. China and the United States held all the cards in this standoff. We had no leverage with either side in the dispute. Canada had no choice but to obey the rule of law and ask the United States for help. Under Trump, that help was not forthcoming. I do not think we can fault Trudeau or the Canadian government for that. We can be certain they pressed for it.
One can assume that as soon as power shifted and Canada could work with the United States on the issue Canada stepped up its pressure for a resolution. It would now appear that negotiations to allow both sides to save face began, culminating in the release of the two Michaels this week.
What, pray tell, “effective action” could our government have taken? Clearly, neither China nor the US was going to budge as long as Trump was in power. Doubtless, more will emerge about this issue, not least about the length of time it took. In the meantime, we should indeed be grateful to all those who helped make this happen, our own Prime Minister, government, and diplomatic service included.
