Black v. Chrétien
Encyclopedia
Black v. Chrétien is the name of a legal dispute between businessman Conrad Black
and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
over the former's right to obtain British citizenship and become a member of the House of Lords
. The decision was written by the court of Appeal for Ontario in favour of Chrétien.
was to honour Black by raising him to the peerage
. However, Canadian Prime Minister
, Jean Chrétien
, gave the conflicting advice that a Canadian citizen should not receive a titular honour, citing the 1919 Nickle Resolution
.
(b. 1943) and Winnipeg-born Sir George Sayers Bain (b. 1939), head of Queen's University in Belfast, both Canadian citizens but British residents, were honoured with knighthoods. Jean Chrétien and Foreign Affairs Minister
John Manley
sent diplomatic protests to London against the British government's interference in Canadian affairs.
report of 11 June 2001, as saying, "What I and the government object to is that, by conferring the knighthoods without seeking the agreement of the Canadian government, you have not taken into account the Canadian government policy with regard to how Canadian citizens should be honoured."
's own personal expert on Canadian symbols, Sir Conrad Swan
, was knighted by the Queen when he was serving in the Royal Household
as Garter Principal King of Arms
(1992-1995), the chief heraldic officer at London's College of Arms
.
.
wrote in The Times: "The great man fled his native Canada for Britain. He couldn't wait to leave, he said, because Canada was turning into a Third World dump run by raving socialists." Black's lawyer, Eddie Greenspan
, later stated Black's citizenship: "was stolen from him" by "spiteful" former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Black of Crossharbour, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
. Lord Black sat as a member of the British Conservative Party
until July 13, 2007, when he was denied the whip (effectively, expulsion from the Conservative benches) because of his conviction.
reported Black was taking steps to regain Canadian citizenship
. He may have desired this to qualify for prisoner exchange and benefit from Canadian early release policies or to enable him to cross the border following a conviction.
In a TVOntario
interview, Black claimed, "I always said that I would take my citizenship back, and if it wasn't for all these legal problems, I would have done it by now." He told interviewer Steve Paikin
that he was working through "normal channels." Black also said, "I have settled into my new life as freedom fighter. It's very interesting, it's quite stimulating in a way, but it is an ordeal"
, to which he was appointed by Governor General
Ray Hnatyshyn
, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
, in 1992. The the appointment is strictly honorific, as the Privy Council has no substantive power and meets very rarely. In fact, the council last formally met in 1981, so Black has never actually attended a Privy Council meeting.
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
over the former's right to obtain British citizenship and become a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. The decision was written by the court of Appeal for Ontario in favour of Chrétien.
Nickle Resolution
Queen Elizabeth IIUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was to honour Black by raising him to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
. However, Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, gave the conflicting advice that a Canadian citizen should not receive a titular honour, citing the 1919 Nickle Resolution
Canadian titles debate
The Canadian titles debate has been ongoing since the adoption of the Nickle Resolution in 1919. This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a Canadian government policy requesting the Sovereign not to grant knighthoods, baronetcies, and peerages to Canadians, and set the precedent for...
.
Role of the Prime minister of Canada
Chrétien held that, despite the British government honouring Black as a British citizen, and Black then held dual citizenship of Canada and Britain (allowed since 1977), the government of Canada had the right to keep Black from enjoying one of his rights as a British citizen because he was also a Canadian citizen.Objections in similar cases
Welsh-born computer entrepreneur Sir Terry MatthewsTerry Matthews
Sir Terence Hedley Matthews OBE, FIEE, FREng is a Welsh business magnate, serial high tech entrepreneur, and Wales's first billionaire....
(b. 1943) and Winnipeg-born Sir George Sayers Bain (b. 1939), head of Queen's University in Belfast, both Canadian citizens but British residents, were honoured with knighthoods. Jean Chrétien and Foreign Affairs Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
John Manley
John Manley (politician)
John Paul Manley, PC, OC is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004, and a Cabinet Minister from 1993 to 2003. He is presently President and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.-Background:Manley was...
sent diplomatic protests to London against the British government's interference in Canadian affairs.
Canadian government policy
Chrétien was quoted by a British Broadcasting CorporationBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
report of 11 June 2001, as saying, "What I and the government object to is that, by conferring the knighthoods without seeking the agreement of the Canadian government, you have not taken into account the Canadian government policy with regard to how Canadian citizens should be honoured."
Payback for political opinions
Black said he would accept the peerage as a British citizen instead, but Chrétien held firm to his ministerial advice. Black then argued that this strict interpretation of the Nickle Resolution was payback for his political opinions and past criticism of Chrétien, and sued the Prime Minister unsuccessfully.Bryant Godman Irvine
Black's supporters argued that Canada did not object to the granting of honours to dual citizens such as Ontario native Sir Bryant Godman Irvine who was knighted in 1986. So too was a prominent Quebecker, the British and Canadian industrialist, Sir Neil McGowan Shaw (b. 1929) in 1994.Conrad Swan
Finally, former Prime Minister Pierre TrudeauPierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
's own personal expert on Canadian symbols, Sir Conrad Swan
Conrad Swan
Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan, was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, a position he held until 1995...
, was knighted by the Queen when he was serving in the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
as Garter Principal King of Arms
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...
(1992-1995), the chief heraldic officer at London's College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
British government's view
The British government begged to differ on the grounds that it was honouring its own citizens who only happened to be Canadians as well. It held that it was inappropriate for the Prime Minister of Canada to advise the Queen of the United Kingdom, just as it would have been inappropriate for the British Prime Minister to advise the Queen of Canada on Canadian domestic affairs.Court decision
The court stated that Chrétien's exercise of such powers was entirely within the discretion of the Prime Minister. It declared that Chrétien had a constitutional right to advise the Queen on exercising her Royal PrerogativeRoyal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
.
Renouncing Canadian citizenship
In 2001, Black renounced his citizenship of Canada, which he then called "an oppressive little world". Eric RegulyEric Reguly
Eric Reguly is a Canadian newspaper columnist. His articles appear almost daily in Report on Business, the financial section of Toronto-based The Globe and Mail. Reguly is also a writer for Report on Business Magazine, and occasionally contributes to Globe Auto, the automotive section of the...
wrote in The Times: "The great man fled his native Canada for Britain. He couldn't wait to leave, he said, because Canada was turning into a Third World dump run by raving socialists." Black's lawyer, Eddie Greenspan
Edward Greenspan
Edward Leonard Greenspan, QC is a Canadian lawyer and prolific author of legal volumes. He is one of the most famous defence lawyers in Canada, owing to several high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the popular Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio series, The Scales of Justice .A...
, later stated Black's citizenship: "was stolen from him" by "spiteful" former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Baron Black of Crossharbour
Black was granted a life peerage as BaronBaron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Black of Crossharbour, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
. Lord Black sat as a member of the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
until July 13, 2007, when he was denied the whip (effectively, expulsion from the Conservative benches) because of his conviction.
Regaining citizenship
In September 2006, The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
reported Black was taking steps to regain Canadian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. He may have desired this to qualify for prisoner exchange and benefit from Canadian early release policies or to enable him to cross the border following a conviction.
In a TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
interview, Black claimed, "I always said that I would take my citizenship back, and if it wasn't for all these legal problems, I would have done it by now." He told interviewer Steve Paikin
Steve Paikin
Steve Paikin is a Canadian journalist, author, and documentary producer at TVOntario . He is currently anchor and senior editor of TVO's flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and previously hosted TVO's Studio 2 and Diplomatic Immunity.A native of Hamilton, Ontario,...
that he was working through "normal channels." Black also said, "I have settled into my new life as freedom fighter. It's very interesting, it's quite stimulating in a way, but it is an ordeal"
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Even without Canadian citizenship, Black continues to be a member of the Queen's Privy Council for CanadaQueen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, to which he was appointed by Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Ray Hnatyshyn
Ray Hnatyshyn
Ramon John Hnatyshyn , commonly known as Ray Hnatyshyn, was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 24th since Canadian Confederation....
, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
, in 1992. The the appointment is strictly honorific, as the Privy Council has no substantive power and meets very rarely. In fact, the council last formally met in 1981, so Black has never actually attended a Privy Council meeting.