WINNIPEG –
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has dismissed Peter Nygard’s application for a judicial review of an order to extradite the former fashion mogul to the United States, where he faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
The panel of three judges says there is no reason to interfere with the 2022 surrender order that the justice minister at the time, David Lametti, made under the Extradition Act.
U.S. authorities sought Nygard’s extradition from Canada on a nine-count indictment filed in New York alleging he was involved in illegal activity for the purpose of sexually abusing and trafficking women and underage girls.
Nygard’s lawyers wanted Lametti to ensure their client would not be housed at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre, where they said conditions were terrible.
They also argued Nygard shouldn’t be surrendered to the U.S. on the racketeering charge because there’s no comparable offence in Canada.
The Appeal Court says Lametti provided detailed and careful reasons in response to Nygard’s concerns and his surrender order was justified.
It says the justice minister was satisfied Nygard, who is in his 80s and in poor health, would be treated humanely and had no reason to doubt the fairness of the U.C. judicial process.
Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct woman’s fashion company, faces similar allegations in Canada. The extradition order means he is to be sent to the U.S. once his Canadian court cases are settled.
Nygard was found guilty in November of four counts of sexual assault in Toronto for offences from the 1980s to mid-2000s. He was acquitted of a fifth count, as well as a charge of forcible confinement.
Nygard also faces one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in Quebec, as well as sex related charges in Winnipeg.
None of the charges against Nygard in those jurisdictions, or in the U.S., have been tested in court. He has consistently denied all allegations against him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2024.