Conrad Black

For anyone who has been following the trial, you may have heard Conrad Black was found guilty on three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. He was cleared of eight charges of fraud and one charge of racketeering.

Now I wasn't in the courtroom, I didn't hear the evidence so I don't have a right to pass judgement on this guy. But, when he renounced his Canadian citizenship just so he could gain a title in Britain I labeled him a jerk.

One of the things I love most in the world is being Canadian because of all the benefits and advantages it provides. And for Black to throw it away just in order to add a title in front of his name, seems disrespectful to me.

But now his decision is coming back to bite him in the butt. By renouncing his citizenship and being convicted, Canadian authorities can turn him away if he tries to cross the border. It also makes him ineligible to serve any possible sentence in Canada, where he would likely receive a more lenient jail term. He had to surrender his British passport after conviction so he won't be going home anytime soon.

He's also facing calls to have his Order of Canada medal revoked. I agree with this idea as I don't think a convicted felon should be allowed to keep something as important and symbolic. And there is a precendence as two other medals have been revoked before. Out of the more than 5,500 Order of Canada honours awarded over the last 40 years, only two have been rescinded – aboriginal leader David Ahenakew for anti-Semitic comments and hockey man Alan Eagleson after his conviction on fraud charges.

What do you think about Conrad's conviction?