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2022 UM Spring Convocation - Honorary Degree Recipients: David Milgaard & David Asper — Transcript

by University of Manitoba · 3,284 words · 594 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00good morning everyone
0:03my name is ron dalton
0:05i'm co-president of innocence canada
0:08and more importantly a friend of david
0:10milgard and david asper
0:14the highest distinction the senate of a
0:16university can confer upon an individual
0:19is an honorary doctorate
0:21at the university of manitoba the
0:23criteria include distinguished
0:25achievement in scholarship the arts or
0:28public service our honorary graduates
0:30this morning are
0:32the late david milgard and david asper
0:35david milgard spent 23 years behind bars
0:38for a crime he did not commit
0:40emerging from the darkness to shine a
0:42light on others wrongly convicted
0:45born in winnipeg david was only 16 years
0:48old when he was imprisoned in 1970 for
0:52the rape and murder of saskatoon nursing
0:55student gail miller he never wavered in
0:58his innocence even when doing so would
1:00have brought freedom sooner
1:02the integrity and tenacity were things
1:04he learned from his mother joyce
1:07his fierce ally in their decades-long
1:10crusade
1:11she eventually
1:12convinced then prime minister brian
1:14mulroney
1:15to order a case review
1:18which led to the release of david on
1:21parole in 1992
1:24one of the first clients of the
1:26nonprofit organization innocence canada
1:29david gained support from university of
1:32manitoba alum and lawyer david asper a
1:35member of the legal team that helped to
1:37secure his release it wasn't until 1997
1:42that dna evidence exonerated david and
1:45identified the true culprit
1:47having spent more of his life imprisoned
1:50than not
1:52david's adjustment to the outside proved
1:54difficult
1:55he compared his first grocery shop walk
1:58to walking on the moon
2:00in the years following his resilience
2:02would continue to captivate canadians
2:05with a made-for-tv movie and a song by
2:07the tragically hip
2:09i will spare you my rendition of wheat
2:12kings
2:13but
2:14when you hear it think of david
2:17it would have been understandable if
2:18david had chosen to distance himself
2:20from a fractured judicial system after
2:23enduring not only a miscarriage of
2:25justice but horrific abuse while
2:27incarcerated
2:28instead he made it his mission to stop
2:31this tragedy from happening to others
2:35no matter how difficult it was to
2:36revisit his pain
2:38he was determined to ensure an
2:40independent review commission becomes
2:42reality and i can tell you that we're
2:45getting very close to that thanks in
2:47large part to david
2:49his guiding philosophy was you cannot do
2:52nothing when you can do something
2:56david was not only supported the
2:58successful exonerations of other wrongly
3:00convicted but he significantly advanced
3:02the dialogue of prisoners rights
3:05and move the needle in the justice
3:06system in our country
3:08in recent years the father of two
3:11teenagers called calgary home but he
3:13brought his advocacy to audiences across
3:15the country
3:16among colleagues in the legal realm he
3:18was known for his unprecedented
3:21perseverance strength of character and
3:23optimism
3:25i will miss my friend david
3:28i'll now read the citation for
3:30his friend david asper
3:33david asper has made exemplary
3:35contributions to manitoba and canada
3:37through philanthropy community service
3:40and advancing law justice and human
3:42rights
3:43many canadians will associate mr asper
3:45with his tireless efforts to overturn
3:48the notorious wrongful conviction of
3:50david milgard a case he was introduced
3:53to as an articling student in 1986.
3:57the fight to free david milgard lasted
4:00years and david asper faced challenges
4:03and criticism for refusing to accept the
4:06status quo where many would have
4:08abandoned the pursuit fearing loss of
4:10personal reputation or political fallout
4:13he persisted in the face of almost
4:15insurmountable systemic resistance
4:18after visiting the scene of the original
4:20incident re-interviewing witnesses and
4:22uncovering new evidence
4:25he formulated compelling arguments for
4:27david middleguard's innocence
4:30he led what became a political crusade
4:33to rectify the point at which the law
4:36protected the true wrongdoer and
4:38punished the innocent
4:40joyce milgard david milgard's mother has
4:44called mr asper her knight in shining
4:47armor and credits him for teaching her
4:49about advocating for justice
4:52that's high praise indeed
4:55mr asper continues to be a vocal
4:56advocate in the media and academia for
4:59the wrongly convicted founding the
5:01manitoba chapter of the association in
5:03defense of the wrongly convicted
5:06which we've now rebranded as innocence
5:08canada a national organization
5:12in 2008 he founded and funded the david
5:15asper center for constitutional rights
5:17at the university of toronto where he
5:19inspires hundreds of law students to do
5:21public interest work and advocate for
5:23constitutional rights
5:25at home he served as acting dean of um's
5:29faculty of law from 2020 to 2021
5:32encouraging the next generation to
5:34pursue truth justice and the betterment
5:36of all following his legal career mr
5:39asper excelled in business as former
5:42chair of the national post and senior
5:44executive at kanwest global
5:45communications
5:47among his many passions is football
5:49which he has elevated greatly in this
5:52province he is the former vice chair of
5:54the canadian football league and chair
5:56of the winnipeg blue bombers
5:58although i recall david milgard was more
6:01of a rough riders fan they they seem to
6:03get along just the
6:04same mr aspers spearheaded the new
6:07stadium at the university of manitoba
6:09bringing about 20 million dollar
6:11uh bringing about a 20 million dollar
6:13fitness center for athletes students
6:15staff and the surrounding community
6:17his volunteer contributions include
6:19leadership of the winnipeg police board
6:21winnipeg folk festival pan am clinic
6:24foundation and center venture
6:27development corp
6:28currently he chairs the manitoba police
6:30commission and serves on the board of
6:32the forks north portage partnership
6:36mr asper recently retired as chair of
6:38the asper foundation and continues to
6:40serve as a trustee
6:42he has donated generously towards local
6:44health care
6:45poverty reduction and post-secondary
6:47education
6:49to date he is the largest private sector
6:51investor in the manitoba technology
6:54accelerator program which supports
6:56emerging manitoba technology-based
6:59startup ventures
7:01madam chancellor is an honor for me to
7:03ask on behalf of the senate of the
7:05university of manitoba that you confer a
7:08doctor of law's
7:09honoris causa upon the late david
7:12milgard for his unrelenting spirit in
7:14advancing criminal justice and hope for
7:17humanity
7:18and a doctor of law's honoris causa upon
7:21mr david asper for his perseverance of
7:24justice and contributions to the
7:26betterment of our communities
7:29thank you
7:30[Applause]
7:50by virtue of the authority vested in me
7:52as chancellor of this university
7:55i admit the late david milgard to the
7:58degree
7:59of doctor of law's honoris causa
8:03with all the rights and privileges
8:05thereto appertaining
8:08[Applause]
8:18and
8:19by the virtue of the authority vested in
8:22me as chancellor of this university
8:25i admit you
8:26david asper
8:28to the degree of doctor of laws honoris
8:31causa
8:32with all the rights and privileges
8:34thereto appertaining
8:36[Applause]
9:01so before i called dr asper up to speak
9:05i wanted to tell you all
9:07that i had the privilege twice
9:10to speak to david milgard
9:12to invite him to convocation
9:14unfortunately
9:16the first convocation was cancelled
9:19because of covet
9:21want to tell you
9:23that
9:25after each of those conversations
9:28i left
9:30so inspired
9:32by this human being
9:34he didn't want to come and and
9:37be honored for himself
9:40all he could speak about was an
9:42opportunity
9:44to speak to law students
9:46and to speak to a convocating class
9:49about
9:51the work that he has done and the
9:53important
9:54importance of justice for all
9:57and and you know in those two brief
10:00moments
10:01i was able to clash catch a glimpse of
10:04this remarkable
10:06remarkable human being
10:08i would now like to call on dr david
10:11asper
10:12to address convocation
10:15[Applause]
10:26thank you very much
10:28for this
10:30it's it's a tremendous honor
10:44i want to begin by you know
10:45congratulating all of you all the
10:47students here today
10:49on from various faculties from achieving
10:52um you know an important step in your
10:54life journey um
10:57not having david here
10:59guides my comments i think toward the
11:02law students
11:03but i think there's some themes that i
11:05hope you'll pick up on that are
11:06universal that we can take away from
11:09a remarkable person
11:12and since a big reason why i'm here
11:14today is because of david
11:17rather than doing the usual kind of
11:19convocation speech i decided to write
11:22him a letter
11:25and i want to share it
11:26openly with all of you
11:29and and as i say i hope you'll find some
11:33universal themes
11:34of meaning
11:38it's tough
11:46dear dr milgard
11:50while your body might not be with us
11:53here today
11:54i know that your spirit is
11:58because
12:00i feel it within me
12:02as i have ever since we met all those
12:05long years ago
12:07we're all very sad that you're not here
12:10in person
12:11and i know for sure that after we walked
12:13you out of prison
12:14i never wanted to have to represent you
12:17again
12:21but here we are me sort of doing just
12:24that
12:25and i can't think of anyone
12:27on this earth
12:30you know that i'd step up for more
12:32willingly
12:34david i'm here at this ceremony standing
12:36in front of all these people including
12:37susan and maureen and kelly and from
12:39this day forward in both body and spirit
12:43we're the dr davids
12:46and i was
12:47super looking forward to seeing you
12:49today
12:50the last time we were physically
12:52together was as panelists during a
12:54conference in 2019
12:56and even though we talked on the phone a
12:58few times since then it always gave me
13:00such joy to see you doing your thing as
13:03a free person
13:04in person
13:06the day of that conference you were
13:08especially powerful when you walked into
13:10the audience with your microphone and
13:12reminded attendees that what happened to
13:15you could happen to anyone
13:18it was riveting to hear you tell the
13:20first person story
13:22of your being sucked up
13:25into the criminal justice system
13:27i don't think i'd ever heard you speak
13:29in such a granular and vivid way
13:32about how you voluntarily went into a
13:34police station supposedly to assist with
13:37an investigation and didn't come out
13:39again for 23 years
13:45when we were told that we were going to
13:46receive this honor today
13:49together
13:50i have to say that my mind filled with
13:52all kinds of memories
13:54you're so lucky to have had your mom in
13:56your corner
13:58and i hope she's giving you lots of
14:00space in the netherworld
14:03one of the memories i had was about my
14:06own mother
14:07and i know rowan talked about this at
14:09the valedictorian address of the law
14:11grads
14:12and it's it's a wise point one of the
14:15memories i had was my own mother and how
14:17she might actually have been indirectly
14:20responsible for us meeting in the first
14:22place
14:23she used to write me birthday cards with
14:25the inscription quote and above all else
14:28to thine own self be true
14:30which is a speech from hamlet and i
14:32never really knew instead of the flowery
14:35happy birthday i love you blah blah blah
14:37birthday card stuff
14:39she kept saying to this to me over and
14:41over
14:43and it took me a while to figure it out
14:46you see when i first got out of law
14:48school
14:49i absolutely hated what i was doing
14:51hated it
14:53what i was doing had nothing to do with
14:55the thing i liked best which was
14:57advocacy
14:59and one day i looked in the mirror and i
15:01saw someone
15:02i looked at myself and i saw someone who
15:04was not being true to himself
15:07i took my mom's advice and i went
15:10looking for a job in criminal law and
15:12fortunately i got hired by a great firm
15:14and got mentored by patient high quality
15:17people
15:18it was only on the third day
15:21third day
15:22of my new job at this criminal firm that
15:25i met your mom
15:26joyce in her schwalsha's office
15:29she had a box and a few plastic bags
15:31full of transcripts and documents
15:33and she was really really forceful that
15:35you were innocent
15:37had already served 17 years at that
15:39point in prison for something that you
15:42did not do
15:43and that we needed to do something about
15:46it
15:47needed to do something about it
15:50my boss told me to read what she had
15:52brought
15:53go meet you at stony mountain
15:54penitentiary and then report back to him
15:57on what i thought
16:00i was kind of shocked at what happened
16:02on literally my third day of being a
16:04criminal defense lawyer seriously this
16:07kind of
16:08magnitude of injustice and the
16:10opportunity to fix it is why a lot of us
16:13went to law school in the first place
16:17i read everything that your mom had
16:18brought to the office which included all
16:20of your prison records that were
16:22organized chronologically
16:25i didn't know what to read first
16:26actually there was a lot of it
16:28the various court transcripts or the
16:30story of your life
16:32as told in the cold official speak of
16:36corrections canada memos and reports
16:40i started with your prison life
16:43and it was agonizing
16:46i know you wouldn't want me to dwell on
16:48that part of the story
16:51but it was my first introduction to you
16:54and it ripped my heart in half
16:56it is still an open wound of what
16:59happened to you
17:00in our prison system
17:02and when all of those people mocked and
17:05vilified us your lawyers for advocating
17:08so strongly on your behalf it poured
17:10salt in that wound every single time
17:13because it dehumanized you
17:15as being just another number and voice
17:18taken captive by a legitimate system
17:22worse
17:22it was the typical systemic attitude
17:25that you and we by default must be wrong
17:30sorry david but i can't let that go even
17:34though you did
17:35and are the better person for it
17:38my next step was to read all the court
17:39transcripts
17:41and all the court stuff and try to
17:43figure out what the case was about and i
17:44devoured it
17:47i could see how on the surface you were
17:49convicted but at the same time something
17:51didn't seem right
17:52it took us a while to unlock it but i
17:55knew almost from the beginning that
17:57yours wasn't a phony frivolous claim of
18:00innocence
18:01you probably don't remember but we met
18:04about a week later after i met your mom
18:06in my boss's office and we met up at
18:08stoney of course the reason i remember
18:11it
18:12is because i was totally freaked out
18:14going into that jail
18:16it seemed
18:17so intimidating
18:19which is i guess what jails are actually
18:22supposed to be
18:24you bounced into the interview room and
18:26we greeted each other and you
18:28immediately started making fun of my
18:30chipped and beaten up motorcycle helmet
18:33remember i used to have that yamaha 650
18:36that i used to ride up to stoney when i
18:37came up to visit you
18:39when i think back i have to say that you
18:42weren't quite what i expected in that
18:44big old prison
18:45you were warm and funny and passionate
18:48and super passionate of course about
18:51your innocence
18:53over the years when you were in there we
18:55shared many moments of dialogue debate
18:58jokes
18:59anger depression and sometimes i could
19:02see your suffering
19:04how many times do you try to fire me lol
19:09we talked many times about you getting
19:11parole because i just thought you should
19:13do anything to get out of that jail
19:15and you would have none of it and i
19:17remember you sucker punched me one time
19:19when we prepared for one of your parole
19:21hearings
19:23i know it's probably all a blur to you
19:24but at that hearing
19:27when they reviewed all the stupid petty
19:30institutional violations you'd committed
19:32since your last hearing
19:35and wanted to talk about your admitting
19:37guilt and showing contrition as your
19:39pathway out you really showed me what
19:42i'd gotten into
19:44you were defiant
19:46and as i recall quite rude to the
19:49authority figures
19:51you declared that they and the system
19:54would never own you because you were
19:57innocent
19:58i didn't really know how to handle it
20:01because i guess my role as the lawyer
20:03was to play within the system
20:06you showed me a different way of seeing
20:08it you opened my mind to the possibility
20:11to the possibility that the system
20:14was wrong
20:16more than that
20:18just as i got true to myself and into
20:20criminal law
20:22you amplified the idea of being true to
20:24yourself because there you were
20:27probably able to get your way out of
20:29jail on parole and you wouldn't do it
20:32because parole is for guilty people
20:36you were so true to yourself about your
20:38innocence
20:39that you wouldn't bargain it away for a
20:42shot at freedom
20:44man that knocked me out
20:48i think it's really important for us to
20:50tell the law and other graduates to know
20:52about being true to yourself
20:54it has definitely served me well in law
20:57in business and community service and it
20:59was a defining strength that got you
21:02through and out of your ordeal
21:04and then beyond into your own public
21:07service on behalf of other wrongfully
21:09convicted people
21:12another memory i had of those early days
21:14when we first met was that you were
21:15trying to get some university education
21:18from the u of m while you were still
21:20inside prison
21:22and if you were here today
21:24i would have loved to walk you around
21:26this beautiful campus
21:28because it's where i got a great
21:30education
21:31some of my most influential profs have
21:34passed away and if you ever run into
21:36wally fox decent tom peterson or merrick
21:39debicki
21:40in the spirit world
21:42please say hi for me others like paul
21:45thomas peter syngen and grant cosby are
21:47still hanging around here on earth and
21:49every one of them has meaningfully
21:52contributed to me being able to
21:54successfully represent you
21:56you would have loved cosby's class on
21:58ethics and society
22:00some of what we had to do in your case
22:03stretched ethical boundaries
22:05and if i hadn't taken a couple of those
22:07philosophy courses with cosby i'm not
22:10sure i could have kept my head screwed
22:12on straight
22:14collectively they taught me about the
22:16way the world worked and without knowing
22:18that we could not have taken it apart
22:21as we had to do in your case
22:24i'm very fortunate to have had these
22:26folks as profs and i really hope that
22:28all of you graduating today will reflect
22:30on and also be grateful to your profs
22:33who've already and will continue to
22:35influence your lives
22:38dr milgar these are just a few of my
22:40thoughts that come to mind in a short
22:42letter and i wish we had time together
22:44because we could go so much deeper
22:46i'm humbled to be receiving this honor
22:48with you
22:49nothing i've done in my life compares
22:52with the triumph of your human spirit
22:55for whatever the system took away from
22:57you in years it never stopped you from
23:00being a decent caring human being a son
23:03a brother a dad a friend a beacon
23:06to all who know
23:08who need to know
23:11that light can in fact overtake darkness
23:15as ron said if canada ever gets an
23:17independent commission to deal with
23:19wrongful convictions it will be because
23:21of your advocacy your spirit will have
23:24not only got you through
23:26but will live in the success stories of
23:28others
23:29congratulations doc milgard
23:32let's hope these law grads head into
23:34their lives with a sense of purpose
23:37and justice
23:38let's hope that they will be let's hope
23:40that all grads will be true to
23:42yourselves
23:43honor and put to good use the education
23:46you've received
23:47and let's hope that your human spirit
23:50will make the world a better place to be
23:53you're sincerely dr david asper
23:56thank you
24:14you

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