Wife of Arthur Porter agrees to voluntary extradition to Canada

Authorities in Panama say Pamela Mattock Porter, the wife of Arthur Porter, has agreed to be extradited to Canada.

However, they say that Porterthe former head of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)still plans to mount a legal fight to stayin Panama.

Porter and his wife were arrested last weekat an airport hotel in Panama City.

Authorities in Canada issued an international warrant for their arrests inFebruary.

Porteris facing charges of fraud and laundering the proceeds of a crime, among others. The manwho was once Canada's top spy watchdog is accused of being at the heart of a fraud scandal involving the $1.3-billion MUHC superhospital project in Montreal, the largest of its kind in Canada.

Mattock Porter is facing two charges: laundering the proceeds of crime and conspiracy.

The Deputy Commissioner of the Panama National Police, Alexis Munoz, said the couple's lawyer, Ricardo Bilonick, sent word that Mattock Porter is willing to sign papers agreeing to her voluntary extradition.

Munoz told CBC's Catherine Cullen that the processing of Mattock Porter's extradition could still take afew weeks.