Feds must release ‘secret’ record on Nazis in Canada: ‘We cannot move forward’
The apology by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a tribute by Parliament to a man who had fought in a Nazi unit is an important healing step — but more needs to be done, Jewish groups say. Namely, declassifying more of the “secret” information contained in the Deschenes Report.
These reports were completed after the Second World War and contain information on Nazis who came to Canada after the conflict ended. However, the names are all redacted, as is any information on how those individuals were allowed to come.
A former Liberal MP and current CEO of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies told The West Block that he advocated for the declassification of the Deschenes Report, but says he carries shame that the government he served did not open the documents.
While specific numbers are not known, Michael Levitt said the historic consensus is about 2,000 people who fought for the Waffen SS and Galicia Division, in which the man initially honoured by Parliament served, came to Canada after the war.
“The namesake of our organization – Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter – he, in his later years, traveled the world, speaking out, looking to pursue justice. He actually refused to come to Canada,” Levitt said.
“He refused to set foot to Canada because he was so mortified by the shameful track record of successive governments in dealing with the dirty laundry.”
During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament, now-former House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota recognized a constituent, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, as a Ukrainian and Canadian “hero” for his military service fighting the Russians.
Afterward, it was discovered that Hunka fought for the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the
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