There was no negotiation to be made in the Philippines;  the hostage takers in that case were a rogue rebel organization (classified as terrorists) who demanded a ransom be paid.  Canada's policy under the current government is not to pay ransoms as it encourages hostage takers to continue to target Canadians.  Therefore, the only other option there would have been a military rescue, which is difficult and would have required significant intelligence gathering to be successful.  

As to how exactly we secured Mr. Lim's release, only the government can answer that question and, in cases like this, full disclosure usually never occurs.  This being said, one thing that the current administration has already shown a lot of competence in is international diplomacy, so this may just be another example of that.  

Glad to see him back as well.  Excellent job by all those involved.