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🇮🇱 Israel /Crime & Justice

Canadian federal court rules to release redacted sections of 1986 Nazi resettlement report

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data In the courts
  • Canada’s Federal Court ordered the release of redacted sections of a 1986 report on how alleged Nazi war criminals and collaborators entered and settled in Canada after World War II.
  • The court rejected the government’s argument that disclosure could harm international affairs, saying it had not provided enough evidence.
  • The government has 30 days to appeal, while B’nai Brith Canada continues to seek the release of remaining records.

A Canadian court has ordered the release of previously redacted sections of a report examining how alleged Nazi war criminals and collaborators settled in Canada after World War II.

Historian Alti Rodal wrote the 1986 report for the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada. It said security screenings for Nazi war criminals and collaborators had been inadequate because Canadian authorities focused more heavily on identifying communist spies.

It is a scandal that, during a time when Canada maintained severe restrictions on Jewish immigration to this country, it facilitated the entry of perpetrators of Nazi crimes.

· Simon WolleThe B’nai Brith Canada chief executive criticized Canada’s historical treatment of Jewish immigrants and alleged Nazi perpetrators.

The ruling followed years of efforts by B’nai Brith Canada to make the full document public. Library and Archives Canada released additional sections in February 2024 after the organization filed an access-to-information request, but seven pages still contained redactions and file numbers remained obscured in 14 endnotes.

This Federal Court decision paves the way for accountability and transparency, basic requirements for Canadians to maintain trust in our democratic system of governance.

· Simon WolleWolle welcomed the ruling ordering the release of additional report sections.

The withheld section concerns Canada’s discovery of a covert U.S. intelligence program that sought to resettle Nazis and Nazi collaborators in Canada while evading proper security checks. Justice Simon Fothergill rejected Library and Archives Canada’s claim that releasing the material could damage Canada’s international affairs, saying the government had not supplied sufficient evidence.

B’nai Brith Canada chief executive Simon Wolle called the history a scandal, pointing to Canada’s restrictions on Jewish immigration while alleged perpetrators entered the country. “This Federal Court decision paves the way for accountability and transparency, basic requirements for Canadians to maintain trust in our democratic system of governance,” he said. Canada’s government has 30 days to appeal.

Opportunity... to become better informed about Canada’s history nourishes public debate and strengthens our democracy.

· Justice Simon FothergillThe judge explained why disclosure served the public interest.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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