Canadian no-ransom policy is a mistake

Why the government has clung perilously to it when lives are in the balance is a complete mystery.
Robert Hall, left, and John Ridsdel plead with Canadian and Filipino authorities to meet their kidnappers' demands in a video uploaded to YouTube in October 2015. They were killed earlier this year by members of the militant group Abu Sayyaf.
OTTAWA—A couple of weeks ago, the families of John Ridsdel and Robert Hall spoke publicly of their anguish at the loss of their loved ones. Embedded in their comments was dissatisfaction with the government’s failure of policy and action in seeking to obtain the release of Ridsdel and Hall follo...

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