Drabinsky appeals in bid to reclaim Order of Canada

TORONTO – Disgraced theatre mogul Garth Drabinsky is not letting go of his Order of Canada without a fight.

The ex-CEO of the now-defunct Livent Inc. lost an attempt in Federal Court last month to reclaim the honour, which was stripped away as he served his prison sentence for fraud.

Drabinsky has now filed a notice of appeal, seeking to overturn that decision.

He argues it’s unfair that he didn’t have a proper opportunity to make submissions to the Order of Canada advisory council, since he was still in prison when the council informed him it was considering terminating his appointment to the Order.

Drabinsky, who was recently granted full parole, was sentenced to five years in a book-cooking scheme that led to the publicly traded company’s bankruptcy.

In his notice of appeal, Drabinsky lists evidence he would have given the advisory council if he had the chance, including pointing to criminal convictions of people who have been allowed to remain in the Order of Canada.