OTTAWA, March 6, 2008 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada made the following statement today following the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to dismiss Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber's application for leave to appeal.
"With the dismissal of the leave application by the Supreme Court of Canada, Mr. Schreiber is now eligible for immediate surrender to Germany.
As Minister of Justice, I do not have authority to delay Mr. Schreiber's surrender pursuant to section 42 of the Extradition Act. Section 42 is not designed to deal with the issue of delay. Section 69 of the Extradition Act specifies that Mr. Schreiber must be surrendered to Germany within 45 days, after which time he has the right to apply for a discharge. However, through his counsel, Mr. Schreiber has requested a delay and agreed to waive his right under section 69 to apply for a discharge if he is not surrendered to German authorities within the next 45 days.
Therefore, because Mr. Schreiber has agreed to waive his right to apply for a discharge under section 69, I am prepared to defer the execution of his surrender order until he has had the opportunity to testify before the anticipated public inquiry into matters pertaining to the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney and Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber.
In this way, the public interest is served as Canadians will have the benefit of hearing Mr. Schreiber's testimony on Canadian soil while at the same time preserving my ability to give effect to the German extradition request and fulfilling my mandate as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada under the Extradition Act.
With respect to the issue of bail, this is a matter to be addressed by the courts. Should Mr. Schreiber make an application for bail, counsel for the Government of Canada will respond in the normal course."
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Ref.:
Darren Eke
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621
Media Relations
Department of Justice
613-957-4207
