On Feb. 26, Dan McTeague asked the government to account for its handling of Brenda Martin, the Canadian citizen still languishing in a Mexican prison. For whatever reason, the Conservatives sent up Helena Guergis, secretary of state for foreign affairs, to handle the query. A couple excerpts from her responses:”… with respect to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and in accordance with international practice, Canada cannot intervene in the justice system of another country.””Mr. Speaker, Canadians are really growing tired of that member’s ambulance-chasing tactics…”
What’s happened since then?
Well, two weeks after Guergis spoke, Maxime Bernier, essentially her boss, rang up his counterpart in Mexico. Then an official diplomatic note of protest was issued.
Then yesterday, Bernier met with the Mexican foreign minister in Washington, DC and no less than the Prime Minister picked up the phone and called the Mexican president. Meanwhile, Jason Kenney, one of Stephen Harper’s more trusted ministers, has been dispatched to Mexico to meet with Ms. Martin.
No doubt Ms. Guergis will be dispatched in the next 24 hours to lament the government’s ambulance chasing and the possible breach of international law it represents.