The Library and Archives Canada (LAC), after much stalling, has once again decided to keep secret the names of up to 900 alleged Nazi war criminals brought into Canada after World War II. At issue is the 1986 report by the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada. After the government’s prolonged standing ovation last year for Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian member Hitler’s SS (specifically the notorious 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division “Galizien”). The LAC went through the motions of soliciting opinions from various groups, as to whether the names should be made public, evidently until the furor died down. Part of the argument to keep hidden these parts of the 1986 report is that it would give support to “Russian propaganda.”
B’nai B’rith Canada responded: “Canada is withholding hundreds of Nazi war-crimes files from the public. This disgraceful secrecy dishonors survivors and denies justice.” They accused Ottawa of “endless delays and stonewalling” as well as defying its commitment to open Holocaust-related archives. Jaime Kirzner-Roberts of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre said: “Absolutely disgusted by the government’s decision to continue to conceal the truth about the Nazi war criminals who moved to Canada and enjoyed total impunity. What a grave insult to those who suffered at their barbaric hands. What a slap in the face to our great veterans.”
