Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said “it’s Sony today, who will it be tomorrow” in response to the studio’s decision to pull a film that includes a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, after U.S. President Barack Obama strongly condemned the studio’s move.
Baird kept his comments about the studio’s decisions brief when asked whether he, like Obama, felt it was a mistake to shelve the film in the wake of a crippling and embarrassing cyber-attack.
Baird acknowledged that cyber-security is an “emerging issue” for governments around the world, as well as the private sector, to confront.
But while “the implied threats that we’ve seen are not to be taken lightly, I‘ll leave it for others to analyze Sony’s decisions,” Baird said, adding that the move may have been a “moot point” after movie houses refused to show the film.
“We’re concerned it’s Sony today, who will it be tomorrow?” Baird added.
The FBI confirmed Friday that it has enough information to safely conclude that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, which paralyzed the studio’s entire computer network and led to the leak of thousands of embarrassing correspondence between executives, and other material.
The hackers also threatened violence against theatres if they showed Sony’s comedy “The Interview,” which has a plot focused on the North Korean regime.
Obama says Sony made a mistake
Moments before Baird spoke, Obama told reporters during his annual year-end press conference that Sony “made a mistake” in pulling the film following the cyber-attack and follow-up threats from the hackers.
"I wish they had spoken to me first," Obama told reporters at the White House. "We cannot have a society in which some dictatorship someplace can start imposing censorship…”.
When asked about Obama’s strong language, Baird replied: “I haven’t followed his press conference at 1:30, so good for him.”
Meanwhile, Baird answered questions on a variety of topics after announcing additional economic and travel sanctions against Russia over its incursion into eastern Ukraine.
He also said Canada’s mission against ISIS in the Middle East remains focused on Iraq, and there is no current plan to approve air strikes for Canadian planes in Syria.
Asked whether it’s time for Canada to re-start diplomatic relations with Iran in order to defeat ISIS, Baird said Iran would have to meet three conditions in order for Canada to begin working with its government again and re-open an embassy in Tehran: give up its capacity to enrich uranium, end its support for terror-related activities, and improve on its human rights record.
Meanwhile, Baird also defended Canada’s relationship with the United States, citing the two countries’ collaboration in the fight against ISIS, progress on the Beyond the Border cross-border trade pact and other measures, including Canada’s recent role as host of the discussions that led to this week’s Cuba-America diplomatic thaw.
