OTTAWA -- Canada's justice minister says he is troubled that two Canadians detained in China have been denied access to lawyers as they face trials where convictions are virtually assured.
Neither Michael Spavor nor Michael Kovrig has seen a lawyer or family in the year since they were each arrested in what is widely seen as retribution for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States.
The two men have met monthly with consular officials from Canada, which calls their detentions arbitrary as part of an ongoing push to secure their release.
On his way into this morning's cabinet meeting, Justice Minister David Lametti said it troubles him that they haven't had any access to legal counsel.
He said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne "have made it their top priority" to secure the two men's freedom.
Those efforts were thrown further in doubt today when a Chinese foreign-ministry spokeswoman told reporters in Beijing that Spavor's and Kovrig's cases have been handed over "for investigation and prosecution" on national security allegations.
