Doug Collins (journalist)

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Doug Collins (1920-2001) was a British-Canadian journalist and figure of Canada's far-right.

Collins was born in Britain and joined the British Army at the outbreak of World War II. He was captured in the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, later being awarded the Military Medal for bravery during this campaign, and was a prisoner of war and made numerous escape attempts. After he was liberated in 1944, he returned to combat with British forces in northwest Europe.^[1] The exact nature of his exploits while a POW have not been without controversy, however, with some questioning the veracity of his numerous escapes from Nazi-controlled prisons.^[2]

From 1946 until 1950, Collins worked as a political intelligence officer with the British Control Commission's de-nazification department in Germany.

Collins immigrated to Canada in 1952 and worked for several decades as a reporter or columnist for several western Canadian newspapers including the Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province.^[3]

[edit] Accusations of racism and anti-Semitism

In 1983, he began a 14-year association with the North Shore News in North Vancouver, writing a column for the weekly local free newspaper. His writings became increasingly controversial and led to accusations of racism and anti-Semitism. In 1997, a complaint against him was brought before the British Columbia Human Rights Commission for a column in which Collins questioned the Holocaust and denounced "Schindler's List" as propaganda. The case was dismissed but a further complaint was laid in 1999 citing four of his columns and upheld with Collins and his publisher ordered to pay $2,000 in damages^{[4] [5]}. The complaint was upheld upon appeal^[6].

[edit] References

1. ^ Ex-columnist Doug Collins dead at 81, North Shore News, Oct 3, 2001
2. ^ Explain War Exploits, North Shore News, May 12, 1997
3. ^ Robert Fulford column, National Post, November 3, 2001
4. ^ Abrams v. North Shore Press and Doug Collins, BC Human Rights Commission Reasons for Decision
5. ^ Doug Collins' final case Dead writer is still the subject of a human rights decision, December 21, 2002, Jewish Independent
6. ^ Collins loses human rights case, Canadian Jewish News, February 11, 1999

[edit] External links

• Human Rights and Discriminatory Publications Index by the Canadian Jewish Congress, compilation of resource materials on the Collins case.