One more comedown for Conrad Black, coming right up: NDP member of Parliament, Charlie Angus, has moved that he be stripped of his Snowflake.
“Your felony tarnishes the reputation of the Order of Canada, so end of story,” Angus said in an interview yesterday.
“We need to maintain the integrity of the office. People who are chosen for the Order of Canada represent the best and the most noblest of our aspirations,” he said.
Indeed, Black’s original citation for the honour said his various business ventures “have enhanced Canada’s visible presence internationally.”
“Given the conviction in Chicago, that pretty well nullifies the original reason he was given the award,” said Angus (Timmins-James Bay).
Out of the more than 5,500 Order of Canada honours awarded over the last 40 years, only two have been rescinded — aboriginal leader David Ahenakew for anti-Semitic comments and hockey czar Alan Eagleson after his conviction on fraud charges.
Links added.
I love Charlie Angus. Wish he were my MP. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with one of those Harper Tories–Rick Norlock.
Meanwhile, Angus is far from alone in his call for the stripping of the Order from Lord Black of the Big House:
The wheels are in motion to revoke Conrad Black’s Order of Canada, which would make him only the third person in the history of the honour to lose membership in the elite club.
Marie-Paule Thorn, an information officer for Rideau Hall, confirmed Tuesday that the Chancellery of Honours has received requests to revoke Lord Black’s membership in the Order of Canada, to which he was named an officer in 1990.
"People have written in," she said. "The situation is being monitored and the comments from the public are shared with the advisory council of the Order of Canada."
Edward Greenspan, a Toronto lawyer who represents Lord Black, called the move "indecent."
"Leaving apart [that] when someone is given an Order of Canada it’s something that they have earned, I have my doubts about whether or not it should ever be taken away," he said.
"Minimally they must wait until the entire appeal process is completed."
Anyone can write to the chancellery requesting that an individual lose the Order, and criminal conviction is listed as grounds for consideration.
I should say that this is NOT “indecent”, as the unpleasant Mr. Greenspan insists. Indeed, since Conrad Black is now a convicted felon, the only decent thing to do is yank the Snowflake as quickly as possible. He should have lost it years ago, when he first attempted to flout the 1919 law forbidding foreign titles to Canadians, then deserted his home and native land for a membership in the House of Lords; that was certainly not an enhancement of Canada’s international presence. It was a slap in the face of every Canadian.
No, the truly indecent thing to do would be to let this kleptocrat keep the medal. That would be just one more in a long list of thefts on his part. And one more black mark (pun intended!) on Canada’s increasingly Tory-blotted escutcheon.