Diplomatic Overtures

Oops, Canada is up in arms over the treatment of a Canadian national who was living in Mexico and whose activities while there have implicated her in illegal money-laundering and criminal conspiracy activities.

Mind, the rather unwholesome experiences of many Canadians seeking the brief fulfilment of sun-surf-and-recreation abroad have also of late exposed Canadians to the very real dangers of travelling in countries they have scant knowledge of, beyond the veneer and allure of "hot" - as in sun and sand - holiday destinations.

But this was another story entirely. This mature single woman had decided for reasons entirely her own, that her life would be enhanced by the experience of living elsewhere than in Canada. An entirely reasonable conclusion, one shared by many other Canadians who for one reason or another go abroad to seek fun, fame or fortune. Some discover what it is they seek, others find their search elusively disappointing.

In the case of Brenda Martin, a 51-year-old woman who enterprisingly found herself a position as a cook in the household of another Canadian, a wealthy Montreal entrepreneur, things appeared to get out of hand and go awry, not at all as planned. Her chef's position expired when she was fired from her job, but oddly enough paid a year's salary of $26,000. She took ten thousand of that sum and invested it in a questionable Internet scheme of her former employer.

And it was precisely that move that has placed her in her present predicament. Laws of governance and right and wrong are fairly universal, although the system of justice and the court system certainly differs from one national jurisdiction to another. She found herself imprisoned awaiting trial on charges of which she claims innocence. But she has languished in an Mexican prison for two years, awaiting trial.

A most uncompromisingly discomfiting position for anyone to find themselves in.

There are Canadians imprisoned in countries around the world on charges of all types, including those for drug trafficking. While they're in the countries where they've been apprehended and charged with illegal acts, they're subject to the laws of those countries. The Government of Canada, through its Department of Foreign Affairs, is tasked to a degree to looking after the interests of Canadian citizens, but their influence is understandably limited.

Through clever public relations and attention-getting manoeuvring, aided by the Canadian news media which have written fairly extensively about this case, the public has become extremely aware of Ms. Martin's unfortunate plight. She has herself become so overwrought at the injustice she claims to be facing in the criminal justice system of Mexico that she has become morbidly occupied with her imprisonment and prison authorities have acted accordingly, placing her in comfortable surroundings on a suicide watch.

Her supporters in Canada have succeeded in drawing the attention of government principals through deft use of the news media. We've seen a gaunt and miserably plaintive woman wail "How much longer does this have to go on? They are just playing with my life. I can't do this any more. How do they expect me to keep going on like this? They have got to get the Prime Minister to call their president and get me out of here. They are killing me."

Well, we can't let this happen to a Canadian citizen, can we? A Canadian citizen who made some very deliberate decisions about the quality of her life and the direction she wished it to take. A mature woman who could not conceivably be totally ignorant of the state of some of the activities she willingly participated in. You can't make a quick killing without repercussions when you decide to take the quick and easy way to achieve that end.

If it's too easy to be true, then it's true that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. And what ensues is much ado about no little thing.