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Ian Verner Macdonald
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	Queens University University of Toronto
Years active	United States - 1962-63
Employer	Trade Commissioner Service
Relatives	Cousin - Lt. Harvey MacHattie (d. 1943 in Battle of Ortona)
Website	Thistle Express

A former Canadian diplomat, Ian Verner Macdonald is an author who courted controversy for his association with several outlying social circles.

Career

"I did not attend the rally, nor did I play any part in its planning or staging. The rally broke no laws, as far as I know, nor did it create any form of public nuisance. As for the political implications of the event, I performed a commendable public service, I think, by providing the organizers and their visitors with a forum to express their views on contemporary society in a private rural setting, thus avoiding possible offense to sensitive minorities"

A former pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, Maconald served as the Trade Commissioner in Bonn, Stockholm, Johannesburg, Colombo, Detroit and Beirut, but was dismissed in 1970 when he advocated closer trade relations with Arab countries and was accused of anti-semitism. He then served in Overseas Project Development until his dismissal in 1984 after he negotiated a Canadian contract in Saudi Arabia against instructions.

In 1984, he began purchasing properties throughout the National Capital Region, owning as many as twenty residences which he rented out to tenants, many of them heritage buildings. He also allowed many controversial political advocates to reside, free of charge, at his house, including Ernest Zundel and Alex McQuirter. He courted further controversy when he allowed neo-nazi elements to use his property for a camping trip in the 1990s. His property in Carlsbad Springs was the target of arson.

In 1988, he joined the Society for Free Expression, whose stated aims included overcoming "the introduction of Holocaust studies in Ottawa's public schools", ostensibly since the event was not a harbinger of Canadian involvement in World War II. The Jewish Week periodical sought to "discredit" Macdonald by suggesting he associated with "several Arab states and individuals".

Associations

"There is a very wealth landowner in Ottawa, a former high-ranking diplomat by the name of Ian Macdonald, who for many years provided rhetorical and material support to the Canadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. And then, interestly enough...Macdonald provided connections between KKK leaders and the government of Libya".

As early as 1983, Macdonald was accused of offering financial assistance to Canadian klansmen. In 1987, Macdonald was approached by a Palestinian-American named Mousa Hawamda, who asked him to organise a Canadian delegation to Tripoli to commemorate the American bombing of Libya the previous year. Macdonald then contacted both left-wing and right-wing groups in Canada to form a contingent of 96 members.

In March 1989, he helped organise a speaking engagement for controversial author David Irving at the Chateau Laurier along with Ingrid Beisner. In September of that year, author Warren Kinsella wrote an article titled "The Somewhat Right of Centre Views of Ian Verner Macdonald" for Ottawa Magazine. Macdonald also noted that he heard a radio interview with Alex McQuirter, the Canadian leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and later explained that "I thought, well here's somebody quite out of the ordinary... we met and became friends".

Kinsella published the book "Unholy Alliances" in 1992 and devoted Chapter 5 of the work to detailing his allegations about Macdonald's personal views. He also wrote "Web of Hate" in 1994, and accused Macdonald of being a "fascist" and "anti-Semite", and noted that Macdonald's friendship with Quirter linked Irving to the KKK. Macdonald tried to sue Kinsella for libel after he made a similar reference suggesting that Macdonald was a link between the KKK and the Libyan administration of Muammar al-Gaddafi on the Newsworld programme, but it was dismissed as the accusation surfaced more than six weeks after the broadcast.

"Sympathetic? In a way... are harassed to a certain extent and I think they should be allowed to have freedom of expression"

CSIS mole Grant Bristow also testified that he had approached Macdonald along with Neo-Nazi Wolfgang Droege, to ask if any of his Middle Eastern contacts would be interested in purchasing a 30-page manual suggesting a way to cause "ecological destruction" using fruit flies and bats. He claimed that Macdonald told him that they were unlikely to be able to sell the idea, which he wasn't given in any specifics, for $250,000 as they claimed to be seeking. Bristow further claimed that Macdonald suggested they abandon the hope of selling the idea to Iraqis, and instead look towards Libyans.

In 2008, Macdonald, an ardent heritage promoter, published "Ottawa: The Golden Years", a collection of 2,144 rare images from the city's early days. A copy was presented to Queen Elizabeth II and is housed in the Library at Buckingham Palace.

He has been a notable author of letters to the editor, noting his opposition to the 1996 American bombardment of Iraq, the removal of a daughter from her mother who espoused Neo-Nazism, and in defence of the United Church's stance on Zionism.

References

1. Department of State, "Foreign Consular Offices in the United States", 1962. pt. "Michigan"
2. American Society for Metals, "ASM Transactions Quarterly", Volume 56. p. 933
3. Library Information and Research Services, "The Middle East, Part 2", 2005. pt. 17407
4. ^ Macdonald v. Kinsella and CBC, Ruling by Justice Metvier, June 25, 2009
5. Goldenthal, Howard. NOW magazine, "Extreme right courts the left", November 5, 1987
6. Thistle Xpress, About the Author
7. Macdonald v. Kinsella and CBC, Ruling by Justice Metvier, June 25, 2009
8. ^ Sherwin, Fred. The Eastender, "Orleans man charged in connection with Carlsbad fire"
9. ^ Jewish Tribunal Review, The Holocaust and Genocide
10. Kayfetz, Ben. Jewish Week, "Canada Group Plans Anti-Jewish Fight", August 5, 1988. p. 21
11. Newsworld, "Remembering the Terror", April 19, 1996
12. Sher, Julian. "White Hoods: Canada's Ku Klux Klan", 1983. p. 117
13. ^ Kinsella, Warren. "Web of Hate: Inside Canada's Far Right Network", 1994. p. 265
14. Bell, Stewart. National Post, Walking away from hate, May 22, 2009
15. Irving v. Penguin Book and Deborah Lipstadt, Witness Statement of Warren Kinsella, 1999
16. ^ Daubs, Katie, Nanaimo Daily News, Kinsella defamation lawsuit takes batty turn, January 17, 2009
17. Kinsella, Warren. "Unholy Alliances", 1992. Chapter V.
18. http://www.thistlexpress.com/books/otgy/queenletter
19. Macdonald, Ian. Toronto Star, "Canada should have condemned US action", September 7, 1996
20. Macdonald, Ian. National Post, "Vengeful punishment of mother and child"
21. Macdonald, Ian. Financial Post, Is the United Church anti-Semitic?, August 6, 2009

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