Pamela Mattock Porter leaves court after her request to have her bail conditions changed so she can spend the winter in Florida were denied, Thursday, December 19, 2013 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
December 19, 2013 - 1:07 PM
MONTREAL - A court has rejected a request by the wife of former Canadian spy-agency watchdog Arthur Porter to live in Florida while awaiting trial.
A Quebec Superior Court Justice ruled after hearing arguments today that Pamela Mattock Porter must remain in Montreal.
The evidence heard in court is covered by a publication ban.
Pamela Porter faces one charge of conspiracy as well as another related to the alleged laundering of more than $22 million in the construction of Montreal's English-language superhospital which her husband headed.
Arthur Porter, the former head the McGill University Health Centre, faces several charges related to alleged scams in the awarding of a $1.3-billion Montreal hospital contract, one of Canada's largest public works projects.
Porter became head of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which monitors the work of CSIS, two years after he was appointed to the watchdog by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008.
He abruptly resigned from his federal post in November 2011, ultimately quitting his hospital role as well and leaving the country.
Porter remains detained in a Panamanian prison while Canada tries to have him extradited to stand trial.
Pamela Porter was initially detained, but her lawyer successfully argued before Quebec Superior Court to have her released on $250,000 bail as long as she stayed in Quebec.
Several people face charges, including another high-ranking hospital official and two former SNC-Lavalin executives.
The accused that have been formally charged face a preliminary hearing in March 2015.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013