Comment: Consider this analogy. Your daughter and her children are kidnapped by a notorious gang in Mississauga. A ransom is demanded. Does the government prohibit you from negotiating with that gang for the release of your family members? No, of course not. They'll eagerly handle the negotiations for you, or coach you every step of the way. 

You're not considered a criminal for negotiating with or paying a home-grown gang of thugs, even though such criminals pose a far greater risk to Canadians than some remote terrorist group. But should a raggedy group of militants in the mountains of Afghanistan get their hands on your family members, you are liable to a prison term of 14 years for negotiating with them and paying for your family's release.

The government's position is cruel and hypocritical. It's not a policy, it's an ideology. "We don't negotiate with terrorists!" Except, of course, when they do it to get government employees released.