A Canadian Jewish group this week criticized the federal government for rejecting a freedom of information (FOI) request for documents disclosing the names of German emigrants the government investigated in the 1980s for being Nazi war criminals.
On Monday, B’nai Brith Canada said the office established under Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy (AITP) Act told the group it would need an “unreasonable” amount of time to compile the names requested in its FOI.
David Rosenfeld — a member of the organization’s Matas Law Society currently providing B’nai Brith legal counsel in its efforts — called AITP’s system for processing freedom of information requests “seriously flawed” and that the group was “outraged by the government’s refusal.”
In 1985, after reports emerged that Nazi physician Josef Mengele requested approval to move to Canada in 1962, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney created the Deschênes Commission, tasking it with determining if and how many Nazis lived in the country.
The commission reported that Canada had harbored Nazi emigrants after World War II, finding that the country was a “dumping ground” for ex-Nazis placed there by US intelligence officials and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It also recommended that the 20 Nazi war criminals it identified face legal consequences and that the backgrounds of several hundred other immigrants be investigated.
But large portions of the Deschenês Commission report were redacted, including the names of the suspected ex-Nazis. At the time, the Canadian government explained that protecting their identities ensured they would receive due process. Ultimately, charges were filed against four, with one case resulting in an acquittal while two others were dropped and another stayed. (more...)
Canada’s Refusal to Disclose Names of Nazi War Criminals ‘Outrages’ Human Rights Group
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