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CBSA manager told not to take notes after Meng arrest in case of access request

Dec 9, 2020 | 3:31 PM

VANCOUVER — A senior manager with the Canada Border Services Agency says she was instructed not to take notes after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou — an arrest that will be under court scrutiny next year. 

Nicole Goodman, chair of passenger operations at Vancouver’s airport, testified in B.C. Supreme Court that a few weeks after Meng’s arrest, she was told not to create additional notes on the matter by Roslyn MacVicar, who at the time was the agency’s regional director general, Pacific Region.

Goodman testified she wanted to create a case summary or timeline of events, but MacVicar warned that the record could later be obtained through an access to information request.

The court is hearing witness testimony that Meng’s lawyers will use to bolster an abuse of process claim next year in a bid to prevent her extradition to the United States. 

Meng was questioned for three hours by border officers before being informed of her arrest on Dec. 1, 2018, and her lawyers will argue her rights were violated. 

Meng and Huawei face numerous charges over allegations they broke U.S. sanctions against Iran, accusations that both she and the technology giant deny. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2020. 

The Canadian Press

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