https://www.theglobeandmail.com/pol...dition-hearing-against-huawei-executive-meng/
Canada allows extradition hearing to proceed against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou
Robert Fife Ottawa Bureau Chief
Steven Chase
Published March 1, 2019Updated 9 minutes ago
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at a parole office in Vancouver on Dec. 12, 2018.The federal Justice Department is giving the go-ahead for an extradition case to proceed against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted in the United States on fraud allegations.
Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
Canada’s Justice Department has granted permission for an extradition hearing to proceed on whether to deliver Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou into the hands of U.S. law authorities.
Ms. Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested at a Vancouver airport in December, triggering a diplomatic rift between Canada and China.
The Trudeau government took pains to defend Friday’s decision, emphasizing in a news release that Canada is merely sticking to the letter of the law governing extraditions.
“Canada is a country governed by the rule of law,” a Department of Justice statement said. “The decision on whether to issue an authority to proceed was made by Department of Justice ... officials who are part of a non-partisan public service.”
China has accused Canada of collaborating with the United States to persecute Ms. Meng, one of the top executives with China’s biggest private company. The Chinese embassy in Canada said the decision to arrest Ms. Meng in December amounts to a “political conspiracy” to undermine the telecom giant and has argued Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could easily have intervened to stop this from happening.
U.S. prosecutors accuse Ms. Meng and Huawei of fraud to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. Her defence will hinge in part on alleged political motives behind the U.S. charges, and partly on proving that she did nothing wrong under Canadian law, her lead counsel, Richard Peck, told The Globe and Mail last month.
The Trudeau government has repeatedly insisted it is simply complying with the terms of the extradition treaty between Canada and the United States.
On Friday, Canada’s Department of Justice said a review of the arguments laid out by the United States has satisfied the criteria to proceed with an extradition hearing.
“The decision follows a thorough and diligent review of the evidence in this case. The department is satisfied that the requirements set out by the Extradition Act for the issuance of an Authority to Proceed have been met and there is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision.”
The Canadian government also noted that an extradition hearing will not make a decision on whether Ms. Meng is guilty of anything. “An extradition hearing is not a trial nor does it render a verdict of guilt or innocence. If a person is ultimately extradited from Canada to face prosecution in another country, the individual will have a trial in that country.”
The Chinese government, however, remains unconvinced that the Trudeau government has no margin to manoeuvre.
Hours before the Department of Justice announcement, China’s Foreign Ministry questioned Canada’s judicial independence as Mr. Trudeau faces accusations of trying to stop a corruption prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.
Beijing has strongly protested Ms. Meng’s arrest to U.S. and Canadian officials and accused both countries of a premeditated attempt to undermine the global aspirations of Huawei, whose founder is the father of Ms. Meng.
At a regular daily news briefing in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry took Canada to task over possible double standards by commenting on allegations of political interference in the SNC-Lavalin case.
Former justice minister and attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould said Mr. Trudeau and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office inappropriately pressed her to help the construction giant avoid a corruption and bribery trial.
Asked by a state media journalist if it was contradictory for Mr. Trudeau to say he couldn’t interfere in Ms. Meng’s case and yet his government stands accused of trying to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he “really liked this question.”
"Of course I think that this is a question that should be asked of the Canadian government," Mr. Lu said.
“In fact on this case you have mentioned, people in Canada are paying it a great deal of attention,” he added. “In fact, not only Chinese and Canadian citizens, but the whole world is extremely interested to hear how the Canadian government answers this question.”
Both Ms. Meng and Huawei have denied the U.S. allegations.
Beijing is demanding the release of Ms. Meng. After she was detained in Vancouver, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling.
The British Columbia Supreme Court has scheduled an appearance date for March 6 at 10 a.m PT to confirm that an “authority to proceed” has been issued and to schedule the date for the extradition hearing.
