Walter Rudnicki, 1925-2010
OTTAWA — For a time in the 1970s, Walter Rudnicki was a household name in Ottawa.
It wasn’t because of his accomplishments in improving the lives of Canada’s aboriginal people — although he is still a legendary figure among native leaders.
Instead, Rudnicki got famous for his firing from the public service, his successful suit for wrongful dismissal and, only later, the revelation that he had been on an RCMP blacklist of 21 civil servants suspected of being members of a New Left seeking to “organize and radicalize the ‘underclasses’ of society and mould them into a revolutionary force.”
. . .
In the months after the trial, news about the existence of the black list started to trickle out.
In January 1977, an opposition MP, Conservative Frank Oberle of Prince George- Peace River, B.C., rose in the House and read into the public record a letter that had been distributed to five cabinet ministers in June 1971 by then-solicitor general Jean-Pierre Goyer.
The letter described the threat of an “extra-parliamentary opposition,” members of a New Left who “appear to have as their aim the destruction of the existing political and social structure in Canada.”
Attached to the letter were the names of 21 civil servants who, according to Goyer’s letter, needed to have their activities watched “with more than normal care.”
The names had even been turned over by an RCMP sergeant to the intelligence services of four foreign countries.
Oberle didn’t reveal 20 of the names, since most of the people were still in the public service and could be harmed by the allegations. One gave Oberle permission to read his name to the House and into the historical record: Walter Rudnicki.
A government operating in secrecy runs counter to the idea of a free society where individuals can live without fear of wrongful prosecution by the state. Government becomes stronger when individuals have the ability to openly question and challenge the status quo because it forces government to evolve. Perhaps there are secrets that protect us, but if you are not willing to accept that I know what is best for you, then why are you willing to trust that someone in government knows what is best for you?
Read the full news article here.
