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VOL. 79 PART 6 NOVEMBER 2021
the agreement.7 Despite the not guilty plea, as part of the deferred prosecution
agreement Meng was required to make certain admissions that, it is
said, may assist the United States in its case against Huawei.
As Canada’s Department of Justice described it, there was then a case
management conference before Holmes A.C.J. in which the department
“informed the B.C. Supreme Court that on September 24 the US Department
of Justice withdrew their request for Canada to extradite Meng
Wanzhou to the United States. As a result, there is no basis for the extradition
proceedings to continue and the Minister of Justice’s delegate has withdrawn
the Authority to Proceed, ending the extradition proceedings.”
The Canadian Department of Justice noted in its news release that “the
judge released Meng Wanzhou from all of her bail conditions. Meng
Wanzhou is free to leave Canada.”8
In the court appearance, which reportedly lasted less than 15 minutes,
Holmes A.C.J. is reported to have said directly to Meng: “You have been
cooperative and courteous throughout the proceedings and the court appreciates
and thanks you for that”.9 Meng apparently responded in English with
“Thank you, my lady.”10
Meng then read out a statement outside the courthouse, thanking
Holmes A.C.J., by name, for her “fairness in the whole legal proceedings”,
stating, “I also appreciate the Crown for their professionalism and the Canadian
government for upholding the rule of law” and adding, “I’m also grateful
to the Canadian people and media friends for your tolerance. Sorry for
the inconvenience caused.” She noted her life had been “turned upside
down” and it had been a “disruptive time” for her as a “mother, wife and
company executive”, but it had been an “invaluable experience”. She also, of
course, noted her pride in her “dedicated lawyers”.11
We do not suggest our positive views of the Canadian legal system
depend on the views of a relieved participant about to disconnect from it.
However, Meng’s statement was not necessary for her to make (certainly
her freedom did not depend on it), and it may at least carry some confirmatory
weight—in Canada, the rule of law was evident and prevailed. (Certainly
it is possible that Meng’s views would not have been the same if
extradition had proceeded without the deferred prosecution agreement
having been entered into.)
The Canadian Department of Justice issued a statement as well (in its
case a more predictable one), noting that “Canada is a rule of law country.
Meng Wanzhou was afforded a fair process before the courts in accordance
with Canadian law. This speaks to the independence of Canada’s judicial
system.”12 U.S. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko said, in