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Conrad Black steps out of a hearing at the Ontario Securities Commission during a break in proceedings in Toronto on Oct. 8, 2014.Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Conrad Black represents no threat to Ontario's capital markets and his risk of reoffending is "infinitesimally small," his lawyer told an Ontario Securities Commission panel Thursday.

Peter Howard made opening statements at the launch of Mr. Black's defence, arguing the role of the OSC panel is to ensure people present no danger to the public in the future. He said the likelihood of Mr. Black reoffending is "so infinitesimally small it would have to be measured in picograms, which is a trillionth of a gram."

The OSC is seeking to impose penalties on Mr. Black, a founder and former CEO of newspaper company Hollinger International Inc., for his role in a fraud involving what it calls "contrived" non-competition payments. The penalties could include a ban from acting as a director or officer of a public company or from working as a registrant in the financial industry.

In opening remarks Wednesday, OSC lawyer Anna Perschy said fraudsters like Mr. Black "are not welcome" in Ontario's capital markets, especially when they take no responsibility for their actions.

But Mr. Howard said Thursday that OSC staff have outlined a misleading version of what happened at Hollinger. "Staff's case is looking through entirely the wrong end of the telescope, so they present to you a myopic picture."

He said Mr. Black was "ousted" from Hollinger and watched the destruction of his asset value, then faced a "foreign behemoth" seeking to initially put him in prison for life. "He did not knuckle under and make a false confession to save his money or his skin," Mr. Howard said.

He said U.S. prosecutors undoubtedly thought "that in three weeks Black will have his neck wrung," but noted that as Winston Churchill said in a wartime address, "some chicken, some neck."

Instead, Mr. Howard said, Mr. Black demonstrated that "almost everything that was levelled against him was unfounded." He said Mr. Black "took responsibility for his actions and has paid for them."

"Why should he show remorse for demonstrating that?" he asked.

Mr. Black was convicted in 2007 of three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, but later had two of the fraud counts overturned on appeal. He served 37 months in a U.S. prison and was released in 2012, when he returned to Canada.

He is expected to testify Friday in his own defence. The OSC case is the last regulatory matter still remaining for Mr. Black from allegations of fraud at Hollinger.

Also Thursday, Mr. Howard called Mr. Black's personal assistant, Joan Maida, as a witness at the hearing. He asked Ms. Maida about events in May, 2005, when Mr. Black removed 13 boxes of materials from his office in Toronto. The removal formed the basis for the obstruction of justice conviction against Mr. Black.

Ms. Maida testified she packed some of the boxes on her own initiative with Mr. Black's personal files because they had received notice he was being evicted from the building.

"He did not know I was packing boxes – I did this completely on my own accord," Ms. Maida said.

OSC lawyer Jed Friedman cross-examined Ms. Maida, asking her how many of the 13 boxes she packed. She said she did not recall.

Mr. Friedman read from testimony by Ms. Maida at Mr. Black's 2007 trial when she said she packed four or five of the boxes and didn't know what was in the others.

She told Mr. Friedman Thursday that she also sought approval to remove the boxes from Hollinger Inc. president Donald Vale.

Mr. Vale testified Thursday in the OSC case, saying he initially gave Ms. Maida approval to remove the boxes, then told her to hold off when concerns were raised about getting approvals from Hollinger's inspectors before letting them leave.

Mr. Vale told Mr. Howard he took a "very thorough" look at the contents and was convinced they were personal items. He said he recalls the boxes contained memorabilia, photos, books and items from the U.K. House of Lords.

He said he went to meetings for most of the afternoon on May 20, 2005, and when he returned to check if approvals had been given to remove the boxes, he found they were gone. Ms. Maida told him Mr. Black had taken the boxes, he said.

"To my surprise, she said 'Conrad's taken care of it, we're fine,'" he said.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Friedman, Mr. Vale said he didn't recall the specific number of boxes in Ms. Maida's office that he checked, and didn't see them taken out of the building.

He said he was unaware the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had notified Mr. Black shortly before May 20, 2005, that it would be subpoenaing documents from him.

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