Lubomyr
Luciuk of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, "They
destroyed
the documents on Odynsky and the others." Professor Luciuk argues that
these
civil prosecutions "stand justice on its head." He contrasts Mr.
Odynsky's
treatment to that of refugee claimants whose cases he examined while
serving on
the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB): "At the board, we gave people
the
benefit of the doubt." He adds, "I've written to the [immigration]
minister
about this. The board is listening to people who come with no ID, with
fake ID,
with concocted stories; we catch them time and time again, and we still
admit
them into Canada. I would not be surprised that people who participated
in
atrocities around the world are getting through the IRB."
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1986 that all residents of Canada,
regardless of nationality, have the full rights of citizens. Subsequent
Federal
Court rulings have made it almost impossible to deport bogus refugee
claimants.
(See story, page 24.) Mahomoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, a Palestinian
refugee
claimant sentenced to 17 years imprisonment for his part in the
murderous
terrorist attack on an El Al airliner in Athens in 1968, remains in
Canada 14
years after being ordered deported. Unlike Mr. Odynsky, who was found
guilty of
no crimes. Mohammad has received a small fortune in legal aid, Mr.
Odynsky has
been left a pauper; he has spent almost $500,000 in his own defense.
It has not escaped notice that the Canadian government has pursued
certain
ethnic groups vigilantly, while treating others leniently. John Kimble
Abbott, a
former senior official of the Immigration Department, confirms that in
the early
1960s he spearheaded an investigation of Chinese who had arrived in
Canada after
the ban on their immigration was lifted in 1947. He reports that the
investigation concluded that up to three-quarters of them had given
false
identities and had been sponsored by Triad gangsters. The department
decided to
allow them to stay for humanitarian reasons if they turned in their
sponsors.
Triad intimidation made this impossible, and the government dropped the
matter.
Canadian Alliance immigration critic Diane Ablonczy says the lack of
"due
process" in the Odynsky case and others is "unacceptable." She argues,
"As a
general principle, if someone is subject to a severe sanction, such as a
loss of
citizenship, then 'beyond a reasonable doubt' must be the legal
standard."
In a press release, Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) national president
Moshe
Ronen applauded Mr. Justice MacKay's ruling. "Odynsky's past has caught
up with
him at last," he said. "The concentration camp guards at Trawniki were
responsible for the murder of hundreds of Jewish prisoners... People
involved in
such crimes should not have the privilege of living out their days in
comfort
and ease in a country like Canada." CJC public affairs director Ron
Singer was
contacted by this magazine. He promised to make a CJC official available
for an
interview; the next day he said, "No one is available." He refused to
answer
questions about the Odynsky case.
