Does this sound like an attempted cover-up?

November 27th, 2007, 01:13 PM

Justice Minister says he can't delay Schreiber extradition


DANIEL LEBLANC AND BRODIE FENLON
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press
November 27, 2007 at 2:00 PM EST

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says he has no power to delay the extradition of Karlheinz Schreiber so the lobbyist can testify before a House of Commons ethics committee.
In response, the committee passed a motion calling for a Speaker's warrant – a rarely used tool similar to a subpoena – to get Mr. Schreiber before MPs as soon as possible and to make him “available until discharge by the committee.”
The minority Conservatives voted against the motion, but lost to the other three opposition parties.
In a letter Tuesday, Mr. Nicholson rejected a request by committee chairman Paul Szabo to delay the extradition and to order Mr. Schreiber to appear. Mr. Nicholson said only Parliament has the power to compel his testimony and it should act “expeditiously” before Saturday, when Mr. Schreiber is scheduled to be deported to Germany.
http://tinyurl.com/2xd499

November 27th, 2007, 01:15 PM

It kind of sounds like the CPC want Karlheinz Schreiber out of the country as soon as possible.

November 27th, 2007, 01:23 PM

That's exactly what I get out of it. Interesting just how impossible it was is keep him here to be available to media and an inquiry. I suppose that if the Liberals were in charge he would never make it out of this country until Mulroney had full measure of the stick.
It's clear that these guys play a little loose with the rules while the rest of us are expected to obey.

November 27th, 2007, 01:24 PM

That would make sense. Mulroney has been a good friend to the Conservative Party of Canada, and his name is being raked through the mud in this whole ordeal. There was also some allegations surrounding the CPC's own leader, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

Get Schreiber out of the country, and Canadian authorities lose access to him. Not surprising really.

November 27th, 2007, 01:27 PM

That's an understatement. The thing that really nips at my sac, is that the rest of us are expected to obey rules that don't even exist. I suppose, we're just supposed to "know better."

I wait with baited breath for the day that our government will just "know better."

November 27th, 2007, 01:39 PM

I think it will go badly for Harper if he doesn't make sure there is a complete hearing of Schreiber's testimony with regard to Mulroney. If he doesn't, it will always be seen as a cover-up and Harper will be finished politically.

November 27th, 2007, 02:06 PM

Well, last few weeks, Nichols response was, "We don't comment on extradition matters"

Today in Question Period, it was "Extradition only accounts for when the person has been convicted, and Shreiber has not been convicted" When the opposition quoted the relevant sections where Nichols and only Nichols has the authority to compel the witness to testify, as well as delay the extradition to allow the committee to interview.

Flip-flopping like a Liberal, impressive....

November 27th, 2007, 03:31 PM

Speaker Milliken asked to intervene in Schreiber tug-of-war

Nov 27, 2007 03:24 PM
Les Whittington
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA - Opposition MPs say they are considering charging Justice Minister Rob Nicholson with contempt of Parliament after learning that Karlheinz Schreiber is being held in the custody of the federal government.

Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Quebecois MPs on the Commons ethics committee want to bring Schreiber, a German-Canadian businessman, to Ottawa to testify about his controversial dealings with Brian Mulroney.

The committee has the right to subpoena witnesses but obtaining Schreiber's testimony has been complicated by the fact that he is in a provincial jail in Toronto pending extradition to Germany, where he faces charges of fraud, bribery and tax evasion.
But Liberal MP Paul Szabo, the chair of the ethics committee, told MPs at a meeting this morning that he has learned that Schreiber is being held in federal government custody even though he is in a provincial jail.

And Szabo said this means that Nicholson is ultimately reponsible for deciding whether Schreiber can be brought to the Commons to give testimony this week as the committee hopes.

"If anyone - Mr. Schreiber, the justice minister, the Ontario attorney general or any other person - frustrates the ability of Mr. Schreiber to be before our committee on Thursday, they may be found in contempt of Parliament by the House," Szabo told reporters.
This morning, the Commons committee decided to ask the Speaker of the House of Commons to issue a rare warrant to have Schreiber brought to Ottawa.

The ethics committee passed a motion asking Speaker Peter Milliken to issue any warrants necessary to get Schreiber to appear before it on Thursday.

But because Schreiber is in federal custody, it would be up to Nicholson or other federal cabinet ministers to make the arrangements with provincial authorities in Ontario for this to happen, Szabo said. The Commons has the power to punish, as contempt, anyone who obstructs or impedes the House in the performance of its duties. It is a rarely used power that usually results in a reprimand.

Nicholson, under fire later in the Commons over the issue, said he wouldn't stand in the way of efforts by MPs to bring Schreiber to Ottawa.

But he said it is up to the members of the ethics committee to arrange for Schreiber's release from jail so he can give evidence to the committee.

Also, Nicholson continues to be non-commital in the face of opposition MPs' calls for him to delay Schreiber's scheduled extradition to Germany - which could happen Saturday - so that the businessman would be available to testify.

The MPs' attempt to grill Schreiber arose after it became known that he gave Mulroney $300,000 in cash in 1993 and 1994.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also set in motion a separate public inquiry, beginning next year, to look into the events surrounding the payments.

Mulroney has denied any wrongdoing and has welcomed the public inquiry.

November 27th, 2007, 03:44 PM

This must be very stressful to Mr Schreiber and Mr Harper and Mr Mulrooney, I wish them all a speedy resolution to thier difficultys.

November 28th, 2007, 10:22 AM

The Speaker of the House did what the Justice Minister and the Prime Minister apparently refused to do. Schreiber will get his chance to testify before Parliament. By way of a Speaker's Warrant, Schreiber has been ordered to appear before the House for however long is required.

November 28th, 2007, 10:55 AM


Case closed. No cover-up. Or failed cover-up? Doesn't matter.

November 28th, 2007, 11:04 AM

I disagree. If the CPC could have got Schreiber out of the country before he could testify they would have. The Justice minister could have achieved what the speaker did, but skated all around it instead. The case will be closed after Schreiber has testified.

November 28th, 2007, 11:05 AM

If I were Mr Schieber I'd get some dielectric insulation.

November 28th, 2007, 11:21 AM

I prefer the word 'pussyfoot'. Don't you think the following sentence would have been much better?

The Justice minister could have achieved what the speaker did, but pussyfooted around it instead.

Pussyfoot:

1. To move stealthily or cautiously.
2. Informal. To act or proceed cautiously or timidly to avoid committing oneself.

And now you know...

November 28th, 2007, 11:55 AM

Or, you can "skate around" a patch of thin ice. You say it your way and I'll say it mine....OK......

November 28th, 2007, 12:34 PM

It's not much wonder that those not born to english have trouble with the language.

November 28th, 2007, 12:38 PM

Whatever.....but I still prefer pussyfoot.