Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard will appear in a Toronto courtroom Friday morning to apply for bail on charges of sex assault and forcible confinement.
The 80-year-old, who was arrested in Winnipeg last December on separate sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges in the United States, was flown to Toronto two weeks ago.
Last month, Nygard agreed to bypass the court extradition process and go straight to a judicial review by federal Justice Minister David Lametti, who will decide if Nygard should be surrendered to the U.S.
On Oct. 1, the same day Nygard signed the agreement to take his case to the justice minister, Toronto police charged Nygard with sex assault and forcible confinement of seven women in the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s.
Nygard had applied for bail as part of the extradition process, but a judge said he was a flight risk and ordered him to stay in custody.
He appealed and lost, then took his fight to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the top court refused to hear his case.
It’s not clear if a Toronto judge will decide on Nygard’s bail application Friday.
A spokesperson for the federal justice department told CBC News last month it will be up to the minister to decide whether Nygard’s extradition would await the outcome of the Canadian charges.
More Stories
Apocalypse now: Why movie and TV fans love the end of the world | CBC News
I Don’t Know Who You Are is a visceral race against time for a critical drug | CBC News
From pop to politics, what to know as Sweden prepares for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest