An American neo-Nazi group cannot inherit the estate of a New Brunswick man, a court in that province ruled June 5.<\/p>\n
In a 43-page decision, Justice William Grant of the Court of Queen\u2019s Bench invalidated the will of the late Harry Robert McCorkill, a retired chemistry professor who bequeathed all of his assets to the National Alliance, a West Virginia-based racist and antisemitic group.<\/p>\n
Grant ruled that such a bequest must be voided because the National Alliance \u201cstands for principles and policies … that are both illegal and contrary to public policy in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant stated that the group\u2019s propaganda \u201cwould unavoidably lead to violence\u201d because it \u201cincites hatred of various identifiable groups which they deem to be non-white and, therefore, unworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its founder was William Pierce, who wrote the condemned novel The Turner Diaries <\/em>in 1978, which advocated a race war to eradicate non-whites and Jews from the United States.<\/p>\n McCorkill of Saint John, N.B., who died in 2004, became a National Alliance member in 1998 and lived in its compound. His estate is valued at about $280,000.<\/p>\n The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which was an intervener in the case along with B\u2019nai Brith Canada, commended Grant for his judgment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a strong statement indicating that it is against Canadian public policy to bequeath money to organizations that spread hate,\u201d said CIJA president David Koschitzky. \u201cToday, we are fortunate that the National Alliance is a severely diminished group, barely holding on to its shrinking membership.<\/p>\n \u201cThe threat was that an injection of about a quarter-million dollars might have breathed new life into this dying organization. Let this decision stand as a stark reminder that we must remain ever vigilant in our efforts to not allow such hate-mongers the oxygen to spread their toxic vitriol.\u201d<\/p>\n McCorkill\u2019s sister, Isabelle Rose McCorkill, had gone to court to block the inheritance.<\/p>\n