At least three Canadians held hostage during an attack on a hotel in Mali's capital are now safe, CTV News has learned.
The freed hostages are identified as Patrice Martin, a former Gatineau city councillor who now works for the Parliament of Canada, Maxime Carrier-Legare, an employee of Quebec's national assembly, and Pierre Boivin, a lawyer from Montreal.
At least 22 people were killed after Islamic extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako Friday morning. Some victims have yet to be identified.
At a news conference in Ottawa, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said several Quebecers, including national assembly employees, were in Bamako to attend a meeting of francophone parliamentarians.
Both Martin and Carrier-Légacé were in Mali for work with the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, an international organization of French-speaking countries.
According to Boivin’s online biography, he is a partner at the Montreal office of McCarthy Tétrault, a Canadian law firm, and has worked on several projects in Africa.
McCarthy Tétrault released a statement Friday on Boivin’s condition.
“We are extremely happy to report that our partner Pierre Boivin, who was among the hostages of the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, is safe. Both his family and friends at McCarthy Tétrault are tremendously relieved.”
The Department of Global Affairs, formerly Foreign Affairs, tweeted it was in contact with Canada's ambassador to Mali and was actively following the situation.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV’s Daniele Hamamdjian
