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Tribute by Former Canadian Diplomat Ian V. Macdonald for Doug Christie
Memorial, March 23, 2013

Recognizing Doug Christie's service to Canada: Memorial Meeting, March
23, 2013

Thanks for the suggestion. There will be so many tributes that
anything I could add would be redundant, but I have done a short piece
(below) based on a letter to Peter Milliken, former Speaker of the
House of Commons, suggesting that he would be the appropriate person
to nominate Doug for the Order of Canada, an award long overdue for
which Doug has shown himself to be better qualified than most
recipients to date. Peter Milliken replied that nominations are
better made by people who were most familiar with the individual
named, and that he did not know Doug Christie (although surely he was
familiar with his good works).

I hoped to find a prominent alternative sponsor but unfortunately time
had run out, and apparently the Order of Canada is not awarded
posthumously. Perhaps we can have an exception made in Doug's case.
In eny event, Doug's service to the people of Canada deserves national
recognition, and it is up to us to argue for it.

********************************************

My lengthy friendship with Doug Christie began in the late 'eighties
when I had almost run out of hope of finding a lawyer to contest my
1984 dismissal from a Federal Government position and forfeiture of my
paid-up pension. I approached all the law firms in Ottawa who
advertised competence in "unlawful dismissal" litigation but, after
initial enthusiasm, all declined when they ascertained that the Jewish
Lobby (which included the Israeli Embassy) was the culprit. In
desperation, as the appeal deadline approached, I drew up the appeal
myself. I sent a copy to Doug Christie, whom I had heard speak in
Ottawa, to vet my handiwork. He replied that he would be glad to
represent me, despite the distance from Victoria, if I could find no
other.

Since there were no legitimate grounds for dismissal, a favourable
outcome at Court seemed assured. However, as Doug began his
examination of the Plaintiff, he was interrupted by the Judge who told
him he should think twice if he intended to mention "Jews" or raise
the subject of a "Jewish conspiracy" since to do so would seriously
jeopardize his chance of success. Although clearly the Jewish Lobby
was behind the dismissal, Doug felt obliged to comply and made a case
that, even without the Jews, was more than adequate, especially since
the Department of Justice lawyers presented no evidence.
Nevertheless, the Appeal failed.

I asked an old friend, who had specialized in Public Service law, how
it was possible that I could lose. He asked the name of the Judge.
When I told him, he said the Judge was an "old Liberal hack who knows
how the game is played". Shortly after, by chance, I ran into a
former neighbour, the renowned Judge John Matheson, at an Alumni
Reunion at Queen's and put to him the same question. He asked the
name of my lawyer. When I replied "Doug Christie" he said "Well,
that's your answer - there's no way they were going to let him win the
case".

More recently, I retained Doug in a defamation claim against the CBC
for permitting the egregious Warren Kinsella to state on national TV
that I was one of the main sources of finance for extreme right-wing
terrorism in Canada. The Judge found, in her "Reasons for Judgement"
that would have been no different had they been written by the
Canadian Jewish Congress, that the comments were not defamatory, even
to the slightest degree and, falsely, that in any event I was out of
time, giving credibility to Kinsella's ludicrous story and forcing me
to pay the Defendants' substantial legal fees. The decision was
upheld on appeal. A Supreme Court application was denied. Such is
the quality of justice in Canada.

Aside from my own cases, I have followed Doug Christie's fortunes and
misfortunes for many years and recognize him as being without par as
the epitome of all that is honourable and equitable in the practice of
his profession, combined with an empathy for ostracized victims of our
Politically Correct society who are shunned, condemned and punished,
however worthy and valid their opinions. He is virtually unique in
Canada in his self-sacrifice on behalf of his victimized clients and
in his willingness share their distress, although it has cost him the
public esteem he might have earned in law and politics, and an
otherwise very profitable legal career.

It has cost him also his health, as he has been struck down in his
prime by a cancer that doubtless was aggravated, if not induced, by
the stress and frustration of appearing before a hostile judiciary and
facing the wrath of venal law society zealots, covering their
shamelessness with invective, ad hominems and baseless condemnation of
an ultra-respectable man whose Christian rectitude and respect for
tradition are beyond their comprehension.

He has many admirers who now seek to memorialize him for all his good
works as an outstanding Canadian, selfless Good Samaritan and proud
Scot who dedicated his life to the struggle for truth, freedom and
justice to a degree equaled by few if any others. He deserves formal
recognition by the people of Canada. It is up to his friends and
admirers to ensure his place in the history of the struggle for
freedom of speech and an honest judiciary in Canada.

IanMacdonald
Ottawa, ON.

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