We seek assurances only where extradition would be otherwise unsafe. The minister needs to make a determination about whether he should be ordering extradition at all. Sometimes, he determines it's not appropriate to extradite in a particular circumstance. Sometimes, it's possible to overcome the problems you might face in the requesting state through assurances. It doesn't happen very often, other than a death penalty assurance. The death penalty assurance is our most frequently sought assurance.
Very infrequently, we are in a situation where we might need to seek an assurance with respect to access to consular services for a Canadian citizen being extradited somewhere we aren't as familiar with. Sometimes, we ask for assurances with respect to a person being held in a particular prison, when our country has issues with some prisons or we have information that one prison is safer than another. Sometimes, we have assurances that our consular officials will be allowed to monitor a trial taking place in another country.
However, it's pretty unusual to ask for those assurances. There are only a handful of cases I can think of—other than death penalty cases—where we have sought assurances.