26 Facts About Harry Kopyto

Hersch Harry Kopyto was born on 1946 and is a Canadian political activist and commentator who is best known for his legal career in which he often crusaded on behalf of underdogs and for his frequent conflicts with the legal establishment.

Harry Kopyto's family moved to Israel in 1948 before emigrating to Canada in 1952.

At university, Harry Kopyto was an anti-war activist and joined the Young Socialists, and later the League for Socialist Action.

Harry Kopyto was active in the New Democratic Party and its left-wing faction, The Waffle.

Harry Kopyto has been a member of the NDP and its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, since 1959.

Harry Kopyto authored an open letter co-signed by other party dissidents, including three NDP MPPs, opposing Rae's abandonment of left-wing policies such as public auto insurance.

Harry Kopyto was a member of the Alliance of Non-Zionist Jews in the 1970s and represented the Canadian Arab Federation in a libel action against The Globe and Mail.

Harry Kopyto studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario bar.

Harry Kopyto represented clients in a number of human rights cases including the case of John Damien, a horse racing steward who had been fired by the Ontario Racing Commission in 1975 for being gay.

Harry Kopyto fought cases that affect women's rights, prisoners' rights, the rights of the aged and the handicapped and unions' rights.

Harry Kopyto represented the Gay Alliance Toward Equality before the Supreme Court of Canada in its 1978 lawsuit against the Vancouver Sun for refusing to publish the group's advertisement.

Harry Kopyto initiated a series of actions that sought to establish the principle that a person is entitled to see the information on which a search warrant that affects them is based.

Harry Kopyto represented Dowson in a series of high-profile, but unsuccessful, lawsuits against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in which the police force was accused of disrupting the LSA and defaming Dowson and another LSA leader, John Riddell.

Harry Kopyto represented several former members of the League at the McDonald Commission inquiry into the RCMP at which they alleged long-term harassment of the League by the security force.

Harry Kopyto was convicted of the charge and was ordered to apologize or be barred from practising law in any court in the province until he does so.

On November 27,1987, the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Harry Kopyto and found that the charge against him was unconstitutional.

In 1989, Harry Kopyto was charged with professional misconduct by the Law Society of Upper Canada for allegedly overbilling the province's legal aid plan by $150,000 over a three-year period.

Writer David Primack added to Carey's argument by pointing out that unrelated funds owing to Harry Kopyto, which were frozen during the disbarment case were eventually paid to him in full.

Harry Kopyto lost his appeal of the Law Society's action in 1993 but continued his career by becoming a paralegal.

Harry Kopyto responded with a disciplinary complaint against the JP and a lawsuit against the police officer who removed him.

Harry Kopyto faced a more serious problem after May 2007 when a system of regulating paralegals came into effect in Ontario which places the profession under the jurisdiction of the Law Society of Upper Canada and requires individual paralegals to be approved by the law society and found by it to be of "good character" in order to continue their practice.

In February 2015, the law society's tribunal issued its decision denying Koptyo's application for a paralegal licence over concerns that Harry Kopyto is "ungovernable" though conceding his generosity and devotion to his clients.

Harry Kopyto was forced into retirement as the result of a Superior Court injunction, issued January 7,2020, which was made following a request by the Law Society of Ontario, that barred him from practising law, providing legal services or holding himself out as a legal agent.

Harry Kopyto appeared regularly for several years as a contributor to AM640's The John Oakley Show.

Harry Kopyto was a frequent guest on Michael Coren's former shows on the defunct Sun News Network and CTS.

In 2013, Harry Kopyto was presented the inaugural OCLA Civil Liberties Award by the Ontario Civil Liberties Association.