Trudeau: Canadian government was ‘very directly involved’ helping John Ridsdel’s family: Bob Rae

OTTAWA — It’s a line made famous by Hollywood: We do not negotiate with terrorists. But a former Canadian diplomat says in reality, Canada and many other countries do get involved when their citizens have been kidnapped and held for ransom by terrorist groups. Which raises the question: What went wrong in the Philippines?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Monday that Canadian John Ridsdel had been executed in the Philippines by a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida. The 68-year-old mining executive and former journalist was one of four people, along with fellow Canadian Robert Hall, kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf in September.

“I am outraged by the news that a Canadian citizen, John Ridsdel, held hostage in the Philippines since Sept. 21, 2015, has been killed at the hands of his captors,” Trudeau told media in a hotel ballroom hastily equipped with Canadian flags and a black backdrop for the occasion.

Trudeau and his cabinet are currently on a three-day retreat in Kananaskis, Alta.

“Canada condemns without reservation the brutality of the hostage takers,” he said. With three hostages still in captivity, Trudeau added, the government will “not comment or release any information to compromise ongoing efforts.”

News of Ridsdel’s death came hours after a deadline set by the Islamic extremist group for the payment of ransom money for the four hostages. Abu Sayyaf was demanding more than $8.1 million for Ridsdel and the other three.

YouTube

Robert Hall, 50, (in purple on left) and John Ridsdel, 68, two Canadians who were abducted Sept. 21 from a marina on Samal Island along with Hall's girlfriend and a Norwegian.

Gar Pardy, former head of consular services at the department of foreign affairs, now known as Global Affairs Canada, said governments always say they will not negotiate with terrorist groups and foreign criminals who kidnap their citizens. “But the simple rule is: you always pay,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

There was reason for hope. Earlier this month, Abu Sayyaf released an Italian missionary taken in a separate kidnapping after receiving a ransom of $630,000. So why not Ridsdel?

Former Ontario premier Bob Rae, who was friends with Ridsdel, confirmed that he had been working with the family to try to secure his release. Appearing on CTV’s Power Play program, Rae said the government was “very directly involved,” but that the kidnappers refused to lower their demands.

“A ransom was paid for (the Italian captive), but it was nowhere near the amounts of money that continued to be bandied about (for Ridsdel),” he said. “It’s been an extremely frustrating and very, very difficult situation for the families to navigate.”

Rae, who also served as federal interim Liberal leader, said the government has a policy of not paying directly for a Canadian’s release, which he described as a “principled” position that it will not be directly involved in paying any ransom.

But Pardy said the reality is much more complicated in that the government may not be cutting cheques to militants or terrorist groups, but it isn’t completely hands-off either.

“Your objective is to get your person released unharmed, and sometimes you have to leave others to fill in the blanks,” he said. “You may not pay directly, but you pay through intermediaries.”

Ridsdel isn’t the first Canadian kidnapped and held for ransom by a terrorist group in recent years.