Thank you for that very thoughtful question. I know that Professor Cotler, who's in a hospital bed watching this, will appreciate that question. I apologize for answering in English, but for the sake of clarity, I will respond in English.
He's on dialysis now because of complications from diabetes. I think he would first respond by talking about the acute risks that Mr. Lai is facing as a senior citizen and a diabetic sitting in a Hong Kong prison. I stress the urgency and the humanitarian nature of this case.
I believe that, as a former parliamentarian, he would also thank you for your leadership in unanimously and persistently advancing this case and would urge that it be continued and that the leadership that the government is exercising be deepened, be raised at the G7 and be raised multilaterally. As a former minister of justice who spent half a century before that advocating for political prisoners around the world, he would say that parliamentarians and the rule of law have roles to play, that the Minister of Justice of Canada can raise the case with Hong Kong legal authorities, and that any creative mechanism that might exist should be exercised.
I think he would probably share the story of his work representing Anatoly Sharansky, who was eventually released from the most powerful country in the world at the time, the Soviet Union. Similarly to what Caoilfhionn and Michael shared earlier, that only happened because of the tipping point that was reached. He saw the premier of the Soviet Union at a conference years later and asked him why Sharansky was released from prison. What worked? What part of our advocacy made a difference? The premier said, “Believe it or not, when I took office, I did not know who this political prisoner was, even though he was celebrated around the world. Every time I went to a bilateral meeting, every time I went to a parliament, everybody was raising this case, so when I went back to the Soviet Union, I called up his file. I looked it over. I said, 'It's just not worth it. It's coming up everywhere. There's too much pressure.'” That scale was balancing, and the premier decided to release him.
There were other important mechanisms in other cases. Again, with regard to the Soviet Union, there was the Jackson-Vanik amendment, another struggle that Professor Cotler helped lead. We used our leverage—trade relations and diplomatic relations—to ensure that the human rights that were being violated were redressed and that the necessary actions were taken.
I know that would not nearly do justice to anything Professor Cotler would have shared, but I know that, at least in principle, these are some things he would have wanted to raise.
