Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said 鈥渋t鈥檚 Sony today, who will it be tomorrow鈥� in response to the studio鈥檚 decision to pull a film that includes a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, after U.S. President Barack Obama strongly condemned the studio鈥檚 move.
Baird kept his comments about the studio鈥檚 decisions brief when asked whether he, like Obama, felt it was a mistake to shelve the film in the wake of a crippling and embarrassing cyber-attack.
Baird acknowledged that cyber-security is an 鈥渆merging issue鈥� for governments around the world, as well as the private sector, to confront.
But while 鈥渢he implied threats that we鈥檝e seen are not to be taken lightly, I鈥榣l leave it for others to analyze Sony鈥檚 decisions,鈥� Baird said, adding that the move may have been a 鈥渕oot point鈥� after movie houses refused to show the film.
鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned it鈥檚 Sony today, who will it be tomorrow?鈥� Baird added.
The FBI confirmed Friday that it has enough information to safely conclude that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, which paralyzed the studio鈥檚 entire computer network and led to the leak of thousands of embarrassing correspondence between executives, and other material.
The hackers also threatened violence against theatres if they showed Sony鈥檚 comedy 鈥淭he Interview,鈥� which has a plot focused on the North Korean regime.
Obama says Sony made a mistake
Moments before Baird spoke, Obama told reporters during his annual year-end press conference that Sony 鈥渕ade a mistake鈥� in pulling the film following the cyber-attack and follow-up threats from the hackers.
"I wish they had spoken to me first," Obama told reporters at the White House. "We cannot have a society in which some dictatorship someplace can start imposing censorship鈥︹��.
When asked about Obama鈥檚 strong language, Baird replied: 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 followed his press conference at 1:30, so good for him.鈥�
Meanwhile, Baird answered questions on a variety of topics after announcing additional economic and travel sanctions against Russia over its incursion into eastern Ukraine.
He also said Canada鈥檚 mission against ISIS in the Middle East remains focused on Iraq, and there is no current plan to approve air strikes for Canadian planes in Syria.
Asked whether it鈥檚 time for Canada to re-start diplomatic relations with Iran in order to defeat ISIS, Baird said Iran would have to meet three conditions in order for Canada to begin working with its government again and re-open an embassy in Tehran: give up its capacity to enrich uranium, end its support for terror-related activities, and improve on its human rights record.
Meanwhile, Baird also defended Canada鈥檚 relationship with the United States, citing the two countries鈥� collaboration in the fight against ISIS, progress on the Beyond the Border cross-border trade pact and other measures, including Canada鈥檚 recent role as host of the discussions that led to this week鈥檚 Cuba-America diplomatic thaw.
