Article content

TORONTO — The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by Conrad Black to personally address an advisory council weighing whether he should be stripped of the Order of Canada.

In a decision Monday, the three-justice panel upheld a lower court ruling that denied the former media baron his request for an opportunity to plead his case in person.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Conrad Black’s request to speak to Order of Canada advisory panel denied by court Back to video

Defence lawyer Peter Howard argued that Black should be allowed to defend himself before the council, and not just in writing as the rules set out, because his credibility is being questioned.

“We say the decision before the panel is a personal assessment… [that] could not be made without hearing him,” he said. “Mr. Black’s reputation in Canada is at stake.”

Howard said the process is flawed, because it assumes a foreign conviction is “dishonourable misconduct.”

The 11-member advisory council is deciding whether Black’s Order should be revoked following his 2007 convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice in the United States. Black was given Canada’s highest honour in 1990.