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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 17 ,2 01 9 | 10 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Sales Lead/Advertising Representative Michelle Stevens ext. 795062 Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow ext. 795066 Jan Bodanka ext. 795072 Delia Medina ext. 795065 Regional Editor Mike Wilson Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 630 Riverbend Dr. Kitchener, ON N2B 2G1 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-579-2029 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL If there is room to criticize the Trudeau govern- ment around its handling of Canadians being detained in China, it's on the question of travel safety. For reasons not entirely clear, Canada has not yet updated its travel advisory regarding travel to and in the country that is now holding at least two Canadian citizens in response to Canada's arrest of Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou last month. That arrest took place at the request of the United States government, which has a treaty allowing extra- dition of people charged with breaking American laws. The U.S. government believes Wanzhou skirted sanctions against Iran in violation of the law. Based on the treaty, and the rule of law, Canada did what it had to do even though the arrest has badly strained rela- tions. After China illegally detained Canadian citizens, questions about travel safety naturally became more urgent. Earlier this month the U.S. advised citizens to "exercise increased caution" in China, due in part to its arbitrary detention of foreign citizens. As of Jan. 9, Canada was still recommending a high degree of cau- tion, but only due to "isolated acts of violence, includ- ing bombings and protests." No word about the addi- tional threat of detention. Former foreign affairs minister John Manley says he would not travel to China right now, and is advising business executives to do the same. "I would not, save and except for having a diplo- matic passport, go to China at this point in time. I think there's just too much uncertainty," Manley told CTV News. Why hasn't the federal government updated its trav- el information to reflect the obvious? China has never been entirely safe for travellers, and it is considerably less so today, based on the state's actions. It's under- standable that Ottawa doesn't want to further escalate tensions. But by not broadcasting up-to-date travel safety information it appears out of touch with obvi- ous reality. And it sends the message, to some, that what China has done is not important enough to justi- fy official, public condemnation and warning. It is, and we shouldn't be afraid to say so, political consider- ations aside. Opposition Conservative critics want to make it seem as if Trudeau is dragging his feet, but the evi- dence doesn't support that. The government, and prime minister, have not been inactive. They have been working diplomatic channels. They have tried to ensure the detainees can access consular services. They have reached out to Canada's allies abroad for public support and, for the most part, have been suc- cessful. (Japan is a notable exception, which is con- cerning.) And Trudeau contacted U.S. President Donald Trump and secured his public and diplomatic support. Whatever we may think of the president, his country's support is essential in matters like this. There may be a time for Trudeau to get involved, but this isn't it, and in fact that could further escalate the situation. He is wise to trust his administration and keep his powder dry, even if doing so draws self- serving partisan sniping. Most will see that for what it is. IT'S TIME TO ADMIT THAT TRAVELLING TO CHINA ISN'T SAFE We may be in the infor- mation age, but the infor- mation we're able to get out of sources is quickly decreasing. With e-mail being the most preferred method of communication for many of our sources, it's become an alarming trend. When covering stories - whether it's a 100th birth- day party or a political scandal - interviews are an important part of our business. To me, it's an op- portunity to have a con- versation about a topic with the ever-important back and forth. Sources may not want to talk to us or they may not like the questions we ask, but it's all part of our job. The issue with email, although it may be more convenient for sources, is it removes our ability to ask the ever-important fol- low-up questions, or at the very least, draws out the process of doing so. One specific example of that is Kitchener-Conesto- ga PC MPP Mike Harris, who was unavailable for a comment about Bill 66, but did provide reporter Nam- ish Modi with an email statement that merely toed the party line on the issue. I have no doubt that Harris was busy, but any- one who deals with the me- dia often knows that inter- views don't take too long - the most it would have tak- en is about 15 minutes. The reasons for this are obvious. It creates a trail so that the source can en- sure they are not being misquoted, but in doing so, it does a disservice to the readers who want a true description of the is- sue. In some municipali- ties, it's policy that staff members only respond via email to pre-written ques- tions. When I'm asked by sources to provide ques- tions via email, I try to meet in the middle where I can. I'll send questions - or at least a general idea of what I will be asking - then follow-up with a phone call. That way if the ques- tions are technical in na- ture, the source can be well-informed and when talking on the phone, I can clarify and discrepancies. Sources wanting to communicate solely through email isn't new, but it has been on the rise in my experience. When this happens, we all lose. Adam Jackson is a reporter and photogra- pher at the Waterloo Chronicle WE ALL LOSE WHEN SOURCES ONLY ANSWER ELECTRONICALLY SOURCES RESPONDING BY EMAIL ONLY IS BAD FOR ALL OF US, WRITES REPORTER ADAM JACKSON ADAM JACKSON Column