Peter Nygard asks court to review decision to deny him bail pending appeal

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrives at a courthouse in Toronto on October 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard's legal team has asked an Ontario court to review a decision to deny him bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions and sentence.

Nygard's lawyers argued before the Court of Appeal for Ontario on Tuesday that the motions judge made several errors in dismissing the 83-year-old's bail application last month.

They said the motions judge "unfairly discounted" the value of a new medical report and "failed to appreciate" the arrangement that Nygard was proposing for his release on bail.

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The judge who rejected Nygard's bail application wrote at the time that his appeal appeared to be "weak" and that he presents a flight risk since he faces charges in other jurisdictions.

Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault last year after multiple women came forward with allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s. His prison sentence amounts to a little less than seven years, after time he already spent in custody was factored in.

His lawyers have raised several grounds for appeal, including that his sentence is "excessive" and that the trial judge made several errors, including admitting expert evidence on the effects of trauma.

In her bail application decision, Appeal Court Justice Lene Madsen wrote that the new medical report Nygard submitted relied heavily on self-reported information and that his health needs were considered at the sentencing stage.

But one of Nygard's new lawyers, Alan D. Gold, told the court Tuesday that the geriatric medicine specialist who prepared the report examined Nygard for more than four hours at a clinic.

"It's not just based on what Nygard said, it's based on the complete protocol for a physical examination of a man his age," Gold told Associate Chief Justice Michal Fairburn.

Madsen also raised issues with Nygard's proposed plan to reside in a Winnipeg property, now owned by one of his employees, while out on bail.

Gold said Nygard's proposal is to essentially live under house arrest at that home with two live-in caregivers, and he would only leave for medical appointments. He pointed out that Nygard is frail and in a wheelchair, with very limited mobility.

The man who owns the Winnipeg property – purchased with Nygard's money and valued at $1 million – would only act as a "money surety" for Nygard, court heard Tuesday.

"The argument for release issue was that the applicant would never be prepared to lose $1 million dollars by breaching any release order," Nygard's lawyers wrote in their written submissions.

Crown lawyer Emily Marrocco told the court Tuesday there's "no arguable evidence" that the motions judge misunderstood the nature of Nygard's new medical report – which she argued did not contain any "game-changing" information.

Marrocco also noted that Nygard would be leaving the province if bail is approved, and he would have no "supervisory surety" there.

Gold argued that Nygard is not a flight risk, especially when it comes to crossing the land border.

"He can't go to the United States. He's wanted there," he said, referring to the charges Nygard faces in that country.

Nygard, who rose to fame after founding a women's fashion company that ultimately became Nygard International, was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after he was charged with nine counts in New York, including sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

In May, Manitoba's highest court dismissed Nygard's application for a judicial review of his extradition order, finding there was no reason to interfere with the order issued by then-justice minister David Lametti.

Nygard also faces criminal charges in Quebec and Manitoba, which have not been tested in court. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.