Shelter in place hasn't quite reached British Columbia and Vancouver. Given the trend in Canada and the United States to try and flatten the curve over the COVID-19 coronavirus, that trend may soon hit the west coast of Canada.
The housing situation in Vancouver with multiple roommates or small living spaces is more traumatic during a pandemic.
This leads us to Meng Wanzhou. Meng has been living in Vancouver since December 1, 2018 when she was arrested on U.S. charges.
Meng has been home confined since the arrest. She initially lived in her less prominent mansion, the 6-bedroom residence near a park. In May 2019, Meng moved to her other Vancouver estate, one more than triple the size of the less prominent mansion.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia had to approve that move. Meng can roam around Vancouver, but not near the airport or a BC Ferries terminal.
Meng has bodyguards who must stay near her when she is not in the mansion. She has enough money so she doesn't have to walk the streets to get food, medicine, or other essentials.
Why is Meng Wanzhou still in Canada?
Canola farmers in Canada latest pawn in China battle over Meng Wanzhou arrest
Even if Meng Wanzhou finally has to remain, within reason, inside her ultra mansion and its grounds, she can sleep with the lights off. Not so for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been forced to have lights on while trying to sleep. Sure you do that when you fall asleep on the couch or pass out drunk one night. You haven't done so for months on end in a Chinese prison.
Spavor and Kovrig haven't been able to stroll to the grocery store or even roam the grounds of an ultra-mansion. They might even settle for living in a 6-bedroom mansion in Vancouver with the lights off at night.
Her house arrest hasn't literally meant just her house. Thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus, Meng might finally understand a bit about house arrest. A mansion with double digit bedrooms is a lot better off than most who live in Vancouver or anywhere else.
For most criminals, house arrest would be just that. Can't leave the house or its grounds. Meng has enough money and lawyers to make this fight last a very long time. The longer Meng spends in Vancouver, the longer Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig rot in prison for charges that aren't true.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for late April, almost 17 months since her arrest. Meng's lawyers have argued "double criminality" — the theory is that to extradite someone from Canada, the charge in the destination country must also be a crime under Canadian law. Canada does not have sanctions against Iran listed in the U.S. charge. The Canada Attorney General's office has argued that Meng committed fraud, which exists as a charge under Canadian law.
Sanctioned: The Arrest of a Telecom Giant (CBC podcasts)
Even without a pandemic, there hasn't been an update in awhile in the case. Shelter in place is a serious condition. We should focus on those who really small spaces or no spaces at all during this pandemic. Vancouver has a lot of homes owned by rich foreign nationals where no one is living in them, including theoretically a 6-bedroom mansion in Vancouver. This pandemic shows the inequality of this world, including the justice system.
Meng Wanzhou may have been "trapped" in Vancouver for over a year. She still has a better life than most of us. Way better of a life than Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. House arrest doesn't mean much to Meng Wanzhou but that would be closer to what her fate should be while waiting out extradition.
photo credit: me
