If the Governor General wants Conrad Black’s gold-edged badge of honour back, it will be on his terms, Conrad Black told the CBC Friday.

After failing in his bid to fight in person the removal of his status as an officer of the Order of Canada, Black, 68, said he still wants a hearing, but would rather resign the honour bestowed on him in 1990 then let officials strip it away.

“I would not wait for giving these junior officials the evidently almost aphrodisiacal pleasure of throwing me out. I would withdraw,” he told CBC’s Susan Ormiston. “In fact, I wouldn’t be interested in serving.”

According to the Constitution of the Order of Canada, that has always been an option available to Black since he was informed the advisory council was considering terminating his honour after he was convicted in the United States of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007.

The constitution outlines three ways to lose the honour: if a recipient dies, the Governor General accepts a resignation, or the award is terminated.

The council is mandated to consider terminating a member’s appointment if he or she has been convicted of a criminal offence.

Once a member is informed in writing of the council’s intention to strip his honour, the member is allowed to submit in writing any representations in his own defence.

After Black’s repeated requests for an oral hearing before the council were denied, he insisted he be heard in person, making those demands in the form of an application to federal court this July.

The court’s decision, authored by Judge Yves de Montigny and released Thursday, dismissed Black’s application, saying Black “failed to demonstrate that an oral hearing is necessary to ensure that his arguments are dealt with fairly.”

Since the order’s inception in 1967, the honour has rarely been removed or resigned. Only four people have been stripped of the Order.

In 2008, several members resigned in protest when controversial abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler was accepted into the fold.

At the time, resignations from former New Brunswick lieutenant-governor Gilbert Finn and other prominent Canadians were reportedly accepted by then governor general Michaëlle Jean.

In death, family members are entitled to keep the Order insignia — a medal in the shape of a snowflake emblazoned with the maple leaf and the Order’s motto, “Desiderantes meliorem patriam” or “They desire a better country” — as an heirloom.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Even if Black, who surrendered his Canadian citizenship in 2001 to sit in the British House of Lords, chooses to hand over his insignia and drop the “OC” title at the end of his name, procedure still requires that Governor General David Johnston first accept his resignation.

Black has caused a storm of controversy this week, including making news for insulting and insinuating he could punch star BBC interviewer Jeremy Paxman.

Read more about: