LIVE AT 2:30 MT 2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
The actions of the United States in the extradition case against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou should not be "questioned lightly," says a lawyer representing Canada's attorney general.
Monika Rahman responded Thursday in British Columbia Supreme Court to arguments made by Meng's lawyers who say the United States mischaracterized and omitted evidence to establish a case of fraud.
The United States has a "very high" standard and "discretion" on what evidence to put forth when making its case for extradition, Rahman said.
The court "cannot possibly grant a stay of proceedings," she said, noting there is "no evidence of anything other than what is presumed in extradition hearings."
Lawyers for the attorney general have told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes in previous arguments that the threshold for an abuse of process claim set out by the Supreme Court of Canada says there must be prejudice to the accused's right to a fair trial or to the integrity of the justice system.
Meng was arrested while passing through Vancouver's airport in December 2018. She remains free on bail while the hearing is underway.
Her lawyers have argued in court that the United States has misused the extradition process and the case against her should be stayed.
She is accused of misrepresenting Huawei's relationship with technologies firm Skycom during a 2013 meeting with HSBC, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Both Meng and Huawei deny the charges.
The argument is expected to be the final arguments from Meng's lawyers on alleged misconduct before the actual committal or extradition hearing that is scheduled for next week.
Thursday's arguments centred around a PowerPoint presentation Meng showed to HSBC executives that said Huawei was conscious of the sanctions and was complying. The attorney general contends that the presentation was designed to falsely distance Huawei from Skycom.
Meng's lawyers said the United States cherry-picked information from the PowerPoint and omitted slides in the presentation where she described Huawei as having a "normal and controllable" relationship with Skycom.
Rahman told the court that the word "controllable" was open to interpretation.
In written submissions to the court, the attorney general says any meaning from the ambiguous word "controllable" must be made in the context of the entire presentation and there is no basis to conclude that the United States misled the court.
"There is no evidentiary foundation for a finding of misconduct or other abusive circumstances in relation to the requesting state's summary of the PowerPoint presentation," it says.
There is no evidence that the records of the case were "prepared in such a careless and cavalier manner," it says. "A summary, by its nature, is a selection."
The summary was meant to meet the limited extradition necessary by the United States, the document says.
"The mere absence of certain evidence from the summary does not establish misconduct. Omission of irrelevant evidence cannot establish misconduct, much less justify a stay of proceedings," it says.
In July, Holmes ruled against allowing documents obtained by Meng's legal team from HSBC through a court agreement in Hong Kong that include internal email chains and spreadsheets.
Documents presented to the court by Meng's lawyers and released to the media on Wednesday say the United States is a "repeat misleader," that it mischaracterized evidence and omitted other information in an effort to establish a case of fraud.
Rahman told the court the United States acted honourably and while there is a duty of "candour" there is no obligation to include all the evidence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2021.
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.