Schreiber granted delay in extradition order

Ontario's Court of Appeal granted a request Friday by Karlheinz Schreiber's lawyers to set aside his extradition order to Germany until the Supreme Court of Canada decides whether it will hear his appeal.

The German-Canadian businessman, who is behind the allegations that are dogging former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is wanted in Germany on charges of fraud, tax evasion and bribery.

He has been fighting his extradition for eight years and was scheduled to be sent out of Canada on Saturday.

Schreiber's lead attorney, Edward Greenspan, told reporters after the decision thatthe wholeprocess to seek his removal was"stupid" and a clear indication thatJustice Minister RobNicholson wasone ofthe "people in powerin Ottawa who would like to get rid of him."

"I guess they don't like him,"the fiery defence attorneysaid outside the Toronto court building."This is all political …the minister of justice wants Mr. Schreiber out of Canada and is prepared to put up any roadblock that he can."

Theapplication went unopposed afterthe federal government,amid much uproar, saidWednesday that itwill not challenge Schreiber's request to delay the extradition order.

Greenspansaid the next step will be to seek bail for his client, with a hearing possibly coming as early as nextTuesday.

"He's been on bail for eight years and three months,"he said. "Everybody agrees he's not a flight risk."

When asked if the decision meant Schreiber would remain in Canada until at least April, Greenspan said with a smile, "If he gets leave to appeal, he's here for a couple of Aprils."

Schreiber taken to Ottawa home

Hours after the decision, Ottawa police ushered a handcuffed Schreiber along the snowy driveway of his home in Ottawa's exclusive Rockcliffe neighbourhood as reporters and camera crews scrambled to capturehis latest words.

DuringSchreiber's appearance Thursday before a parliamentary ethics committee examining his dealings withMulroney, Schreiber said he needed to retrieve certaindocumentsfrom his home before he couldanswer questions.

"Sure I have something to say, otherwise I wouldn't be going home," Schreiber told reporters Friday as he entered his home.

The trip could lead to a slew of papers surfacing from a man known to keep meticulous records, said the CBC'sHarvey Cashore, who has interviewed Schreiberseveral times and received detailed documents from the businessman in the past.

"We know he's got daytimers, documents, bank records, so it could be a lot of material he'll haul out of there," Cashore said Friday.

Testifying before ethics committee

Opposition MPs have asked that Schreiber stay in Canada so that he can continue to testify before theethics committee. MPs also want Schreiber to address a public inquiry that will investigate the matter at a later date.

DuringThursday's appearance beforethe federal ethics committee, after initially saying he wouldn't answer MPs' questions, Schreiber gave more than two hours of testimony.

Hesaid Mulroney was only paid $300,000 of a $500,000 business deal because the former prime minister did not hold up his end of the bargain.

"His original statement was that he had nothing to say, and then I learned that he said," Greenspan said of Schreiber's appearance.

Initially, the justice minister said he was powerless to block Schreiber's extradition to his native Germany because he lacks the jurisdictional authority to interfere in an impending deportation order. Opposition parties rejectedNicholson's claim, saying it was untrue.

Then Wednesday night, on the eve of Schreiber's first appearance before the ethics committee in Ottawa, the Justice Department appeared to change its tune and agreed not to challengethe judicial stay of extradition.

Schreiber's allegationsspurred Prime Minister Stephen Harper to call a public inquiry into the affair, but Greenspan said the justice minister's actions left himdoubting whether an inquiry would ever take place.

"It strikes me as a concerted effort to make sure that theylook like they want a public inquiry, butwhat they really want is Mr. Schreiber out of here," he said.

Schreiber, who had been housed in a Torontodetention centre before being transferred to Ottawa,is set to testify before the ethics committee again on Tuesday.

Schreiber suing Mulroney over $300,000 deal

The committee is looking into $300,000 in cash Mulroney accepted from Schreiber after he left office in 1993.

It's also reviewing Mulroney's $2.1-million settlement from the federal government in 1997 over his libel suit regarding the so-called Airbus affair — in which millions of dollars in secret commissions were paid in the sale of jets to Air Canada.

Schreiber is suing Mulroney to recoup the $300,000 in cash payments. Before Thursday's hearing, it was reported the money was allegedly paid for Mulroney to help establish a pasta business and a light-armoured vehicle factory, and that the services weren't provided.

Schreiber alleged in an affidavit that the deal was struck two days before Mulroney, a Conservative,left office as prime minister in 1993.

Schreiber also alleged in the affidavit that a Mulroney adviser asked Schreiber to transfer money in connection with Air Canada's 1988 purchase of Airbus planes to a Mulroney lawyer based in Switzerland.

None of the allegations against Mulroney has been proven in court.