St. Even
Active Member
And the beat goes on. I've always been in favour of an inquiry and was worried we weren't going to get one. Still too many unanswered questions. An inquiry setting will have more authority, better resources and will be better organized than the ethics committee was. All partisanship BS aside, we're talking about the integrity of the office of the prime minister. Mulroney still has a lot of splaining to do. I just hope they don't drag it on forever.
Schreiber inquiry is on
by GREG MCARTHUR
Globe and Mail Upate
March 5, 2008 at 3:09 PM EST
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has confirmed that the federal government is going forward with a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair and that lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber, who was due to be extradited to Germany, will remain in Canada until he has had a chance to testify.
In a letter to Mr. Schreiber's lawyer Eddie Greenspan, Mr. Nicholson has agreed to delay the extradition of Mr. Schreiber to Germany, where the German-Canadian businessman is wanted on criminal charges of bribery, fraud and tax evasion.
“I'm satisfied that it would not be unjust or oppressive to Mr. Schreiber to delay his surrender for a period of time at his request in order that he may testify before the Mulroney-Schreiber public inquiry. Accordingly, I agree that subject to any change in circumstances, Mr. Schreiber will not be surrendered until he has testified before the inquiry,” Mr. Nicholson wrote in a letter, dated March 3, to Mr. Greenspan.
The letter has been obtained by CBC News and The Globe and Mail,
Karlheinz Schreiber leaves the Parliament building in Ottawa following his testimony before the Commons Ethics committee in this file photo.
Enlarge Image
Karlheinz Schreiber leaves the Parliament building in Ottawa following his testimony before the Commons Ethics committee in this file photo. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)
Related Articles
Mr. Nicholson's decision comes just one day before the Supreme Court of Canada was set to announce whether it would hear Mr. Schreiber's case. Had the court ruled against Mr. Schreiber, he would likely have been escorted to an airplane by the RCMP and sent back to Germany, which has been trying to get him to face justice since the late 1990s.
The German-Canadian fugitive's next challenge will be to try and convince the justice system that he should remain a free man while he waits to testify. Because of the impending Supreme Court decision tomorrow, he is still required to turn himself into the Toronto West Detention Centre. Mr. Greenspan has written a letter to Mr. Nicholson about getting Mr. Schreiber released on bail, but it is unknown how the justice department will respond.
“We are going to wait for the Supreme Court's decision before we... comment,” Genevieve Breton, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an e-mail.
Reached Wednesday at his Toronto condominium, Mr. Schreiber said Mr. Nicholson made the right decision.
“I think the parliamentary inquiry should take place and how could the inquiry take place without me. And if we don't have the right to cross examine the right witnesses... nobody will ever get to know what happened.”
“The Minister has not done a favour to me. He's done, perhaps, the right thing for his government and the Canadians and everyone will see what happened .. the truth will be brought to light.”
A spokesman for Mr. Mulroney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Mulroney's lawyer, Guy Pratte, has accused Mr. Schreiber of releasing misleading and false information in order to get a public inquiry launched. Mr. Pratte called Mr. Schreiber's efforts a “transparent attempt to bolster his desperate attempts to avoid extradition.”
In a letter that Mr. Greenspan sent to the justice department Tuesday, he urged the justice department to consent to release Mr. Schreiber on bail. The department, which is responsible for getting Mr. Schreiber back to his native country under Canada's extradition treaty with Germany, has opposed several of Mr. Schreiber's bail applications.
In his latest letter, Mr. Greenspan reminded Mr. Nicholson of what happened on Dec. 4, 2007 – the last time Mr. Schreiber was forced to remain in custody while participating in a parliamentary probe.
Authorities had removed Mr. Schreiber's belt – as is customary with prisoners – but when the 73-year-old returned to his house with police escorts to pick up documents for the House of Commons ethics committee, his pants fell down around his ankles. The incident was captured by television cameras.
"It is obviously a desirable public objective that Mr. Schreiber testify in an appropriate and dignified manner at the public inquiry," Mr. Greenspan wrote.
Schreiber inquiry is on
by GREG MCARTHUR
Globe and Mail Upate
March 5, 2008 at 3:09 PM EST
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has confirmed that the federal government is going forward with a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair and that lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber, who was due to be extradited to Germany, will remain in Canada until he has had a chance to testify.
In a letter to Mr. Schreiber's lawyer Eddie Greenspan, Mr. Nicholson has agreed to delay the extradition of Mr. Schreiber to Germany, where the German-Canadian businessman is wanted on criminal charges of bribery, fraud and tax evasion.
“I'm satisfied that it would not be unjust or oppressive to Mr. Schreiber to delay his surrender for a period of time at his request in order that he may testify before the Mulroney-Schreiber public inquiry. Accordingly, I agree that subject to any change in circumstances, Mr. Schreiber will not be surrendered until he has testified before the inquiry,” Mr. Nicholson wrote in a letter, dated March 3, to Mr. Greenspan.
The letter has been obtained by CBC News and The Globe and Mail,
Karlheinz Schreiber leaves the Parliament building in Ottawa following his testimony before the Commons Ethics committee in this file photo.
Enlarge Image
Karlheinz Schreiber leaves the Parliament building in Ottawa following his testimony before the Commons Ethics committee in this file photo. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)
Related Articles
Mr. Nicholson's decision comes just one day before the Supreme Court of Canada was set to announce whether it would hear Mr. Schreiber's case. Had the court ruled against Mr. Schreiber, he would likely have been escorted to an airplane by the RCMP and sent back to Germany, which has been trying to get him to face justice since the late 1990s.
The German-Canadian fugitive's next challenge will be to try and convince the justice system that he should remain a free man while he waits to testify. Because of the impending Supreme Court decision tomorrow, he is still required to turn himself into the Toronto West Detention Centre. Mr. Greenspan has written a letter to Mr. Nicholson about getting Mr. Schreiber released on bail, but it is unknown how the justice department will respond.
“We are going to wait for the Supreme Court's decision before we... comment,” Genevieve Breton, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an e-mail.
Reached Wednesday at his Toronto condominium, Mr. Schreiber said Mr. Nicholson made the right decision.
“I think the parliamentary inquiry should take place and how could the inquiry take place without me. And if we don't have the right to cross examine the right witnesses... nobody will ever get to know what happened.”
“The Minister has not done a favour to me. He's done, perhaps, the right thing for his government and the Canadians and everyone will see what happened .. the truth will be brought to light.”
A spokesman for Mr. Mulroney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Mulroney's lawyer, Guy Pratte, has accused Mr. Schreiber of releasing misleading and false information in order to get a public inquiry launched. Mr. Pratte called Mr. Schreiber's efforts a “transparent attempt to bolster his desperate attempts to avoid extradition.”
In a letter that Mr. Greenspan sent to the justice department Tuesday, he urged the justice department to consent to release Mr. Schreiber on bail. The department, which is responsible for getting Mr. Schreiber back to his native country under Canada's extradition treaty with Germany, has opposed several of Mr. Schreiber's bail applications.
In his latest letter, Mr. Greenspan reminded Mr. Nicholson of what happened on Dec. 4, 2007 – the last time Mr. Schreiber was forced to remain in custody while participating in a parliamentary probe.
Authorities had removed Mr. Schreiber's belt – as is customary with prisoners – but when the 73-year-old returned to his house with police escorts to pick up documents for the House of Commons ethics committee, his pants fell down around his ankles. The incident was captured by television cameras.
"It is obviously a desirable public objective that Mr. Schreiber testify in an appropriate and dignified manner at the public inquiry," Mr. Greenspan wrote.