”Canadians rarely exercise or even threaten to exercise hard power. Canadians now hold no value as a commodity and there is no risk if they are harmed. So who will be chosen to be the first victim?”

The logic escapes me. If they have no value, why kidnap them in the first place? That’s the reason Canada doesn’t pay ransoms ... it reduces the risk of kidnaping.

Personally, I have little sympathy for people who travel to high risk areas with no reliable and open central authorities. Why should Canada take heroic efforts - risk the lives of Canadian service personal and tax money that should be directed toward services - to rescue people like this?