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Conrad Black: Difference between revisions

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→‎Peerage controversy and citizenship: expand on his response w CBC source and what he previously said about lords work
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{{Main|Black v Chrétien}}In 2001, British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] advised [[Queen Elizabeth II]] to confer on Black a [[life peer]]age in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]] with the title of ''The Baron Black of Crossharbour''.{{#tag:ref|With, not part of the main title, the [[territorial designation]], of Crossharbour in the [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]. This entitles him to the standard official style of "Lord Black".|group= n}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=56379|date=5 November 2001|page=12995}}</ref> He would sit as a Conservative peer, and his name had been put forward by the then-Conservative leader [[William Hague]]. Canadian Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]] advised the Queen not to appoint Black a peer, citing the [[Canadian titles debate|Nickle Resolution]] of 1919 and a long history since then of objections to Canadian citizens accepting [[Peerages in the United Kingdom|British peerages]]. Black at the time held both Canadian and British citizenship. Black pointed out that the Nickle Resolution referred to Canadian resident citizens, not dual citizens living in the UK, and was not binding; but when Blair said the Queen would prefer not to choose between the conflicting recommendations of two prime ministers of countries of which she was the monarch, Black asked that the matter be deferred. He litigated in Canada, claiming that Chrétien had no jurisdiction to create a class of citizen in another country, consisting of one person (as there were other dual citizens in the [[House of Lords]]), ineligible to receive an honour in that country for services deemed to have been rendered in that country, because of the objections of the Canadian Prime Minister of the day. Later in 2001, after the Ontario Superior Court and Court of Appeal had ruled that they had no jurisdiction in this area, Black renounced his Canadian citizenship, remaining a United Kingdom citizen, which allowed him to accept the peerage without further controversy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conrad-black-to-renounce-canadian-citizenship-1.255288|title=Conrad Black to renounce Canadian citizenship}}</ref>
 
Black sat as a [[life peer]] on the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] benches until 2007, when he withdrew from the Conservative group of peers following his conviction in the United States. He is currently a [[Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords|non-affiliated peer]]. In an interview with BBC reporter [[Jeremy Paxman]] in 2012, Black stated that he could return to the [[House of Lords]] as a voting member. Comparing himself to [[Nelson Mandela]], Black said a criminal conviction does not prohibit him from sitting, since the House of Lords had no restriction on such a case.<ref>{{cite news|author=Tu Thanh Ha|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/conrad-black-says-he-could-still-sit-in-the-uk-house-of-lords/article4630790|title=Conrad Black says he could still sit in the U.K. House of Lords|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|access-date=3 April 2016}}</ref> This situation was later changed under the [[House of Lords Reform Act 2014]], which allowed for members to be expelled following a criminal conviction.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06832/#:~:text=2)%20Bill%202013%2D14%20was,of%20the%20House%20of%20Lords. | title=House of Lords Reform Act | work=Parliament of the United Kingdom | accessdate=10 January 2023 }}</ref> He was on leave of absence from the House of Lords from June 2012 until July 2024, when he was expelled from the house for failure to attend throughout the 2023-4 session.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Conrad Black stripped of two honours by his native Canada|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/feb/01/conrad-black-stripped-honours-canada|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=1 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="parlbio">{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-black-of-crossharbour/2182|title=Lord Black of Crossharbour profile|work=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-07-10/debates/90FAD71D-F0C5-43AF-9CE2-A65F2485B3BF/RetirementsOfMembersAndCessationOfMembership |publisher=Hansard |title=Retirements of Members and Cessation of Membership |accessdate=11 July 2024}}</ref>
 
In an interview with [[Peter Mansbridge]] in May 2012, Black said he would consider applying for Canadian citizenship "within a few years", when he hoped the matter would no longer be controversial and he could "make an application like any other person who has been a temporary resident". It is not clear when or if he would be accepted, but he has been a temporary resident for over five years with a full work permit. Black regained his Canadian citizenship in 2023.<ref name="nationalpost.com"/> At that time, Black said he intended to resume his legislative work in the House of Lords.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Tunney |first=Catharine |date=July 10, 2024 |title=Conrad Black, who battled Chrétien over British peerage, removed from U.K. House of Lords |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conrad-black-removed-house-of-lords-1.7259948 |access-date=July 10, 2024 |work=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> After his expulsion from that chamber for low attendance in July 2024, Black told CBC News that he was not ware of his removal and that it did not matter to him.<ref name=":2" />
 
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