Letter from Laurence Cannon (?)

>>>  From :        Received : 11  Oct  2010 09:33:30 AM  >>>

>>>  Subject : PM Web Site Comments - Liu Xia/Liu Xiaobo  >>>>

Date: 2010/10/11 9:40:02 AM
Name/Nom : Ryan Blais
E-Mail/Adresse électronique :
Location/Lieu :
Telephone/Téléphone :

Comments/Commentaires : Liu Xiaobo was recently awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize while serving jail time in China for speaking up for democratic
reform in China. In an act of vengeance, the Chinese authorities
detained his wife, Liu Xia at her home in Beijing so that she was unable
to visit her husband in prison. My question is: what is the stance of
the Canadian government on this issue what if any steps will the
government take to resolve it or put pressure on the Chinese government
to release Liu Xiaobo and quit harassing Liu Xia and what is the stance
of Canada in general on China, a country infamous for its many human
rights abuses? Is economic cooperation with China more important than
the basic Canadian core values of human rights, human dignity, and
tolerance?

Office of the Prime Minister / Cabinet du Premier ministre

From:	Prime Minister/Premier ministre <pm@pm.gc.ca> Add to Contacts
To:
Cc:	"Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P." <mina10@international.gc.ca>

---

Dear Mr. Blais:

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to thank you for your e-mail, in which you raised an issue which falls within the portfolio of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Prime Minister always appreciates receiving mail on subjects of importance to Canadians.

Please be assured that the statements you made have been carefully reviewed. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your e-mail to Minister Cannon so that he too may be made aware of your comments. I am certain that the Minister will give your views every consideration. For more information on the Government's initiatives, you may wish to visit the Prime Minister's Web site, at www.pm.gc.ca.

L.A. Lavell
Executive Correspondence Officer
for the Prime Minister's Office
Agent de correspondance
de la haute direction
pour le Cabinet du Premier ministre

A15841-2010 IN REPLY TO YOUR EMAIL OF OCTOBER 11, 2010

From:	"min.dfaitmaeci@international.gc.ca" <min.dfaitmaeci@international.gc.ca> Add to Contacts
To:
Cc:	pm@pm.gc.ca

---

Mr. Ryan Blais


c.c.  pm@pm.gc.ca

Dear Mr. Blais:

The Office of the right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, has
forwarded to me your email of October 11, 2010, concerning Mr. Liu
Xiaobo and his wife Ms. Liu Xia.

The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of
Canada's foreign policy. In all circumstances, Canada stands up for
human rights and takes principled positions on important issues to
promote freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The Government of Canada has serious concerns about the human rights
situation in China. Canada consistently raises human rights concerns
with the Chinese government, calling on China to respect, protect and
promote the freedom of expression, association, and the rule of law.
Canada also continues to raise a number of human rights cases of
concern. Furthermore, through high-level dialogue and cooperation,
Canada seeks to help China adopt and implement internationally agreed
standards on human rights, the rule of law and sustainable development.

Canada has raised Mr. Xiaobo's case with Chinese authorities on a number
of occasions including President Hu Jintao's state visit to Canada in
June 2010. I personally met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
during my visit to China in October 2010, and raised with him Mr. Liu's
case and those of his wife Ms. Liu Xia as well as other individuals who
have come under greater scrutiny and harassment by Chinese authorities
since Mr. Liu's Nobel win. The Government of Canada fully supports Mr.
Liu's right to peaceful and non-violent freedom of expression and
remains deeply concerned about his continued imprisonment. We call on
China to release Mr. Liu without condition, and to lift restrictions on
Ms. Xia and political dissidents exercising their right to freedom of
expression. 

I can assure you that the Government of Canada will continue to express
its concerns regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms to Chinese
authorities.

Thank you for taking the time to write and share your concerns.

Sincerely,




The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Foreign Affairs

It's a Mystery, It's a Mystery...

The reason its called bustemup is because in High School (if I remember correctly) my nickname was Buster, which was loosely based on the story that my father, the VP of the Fernie Secondary School had once held a job as a bartender at the Jaffray Pub. Not true, but humorous nonetheless. So, if a fight were to break out, a bouncer's job would be to "bustemup" or throw them out and/or break up the fight. There. Mystery solved. Sorry to ruin the suspense. On to more important things! Onward and upward! For starters, how about a recent letter I wrote to the Prime Minister's office which was then forwarded to the Minister of Defense' office. The letter claims to be from none other than Laurence Cannon, whom I admire if it really is his writing, since for such a busy guy I appreciate the time he took to respond to the political concerns of one Canadian citizen. If not, if it was merely someone who works in his office, as I suspect it could be, then no major disappointment there since the writing is very good and probably accurately sums up the stance Mr. Cannon would take on this issue. In effect, it demonstrates that even ordinary people can raise a voice in the world and be heard, and maybe even make a difference, with enough determination. Here it is (in the next blog post):