B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
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.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.