Court orders Ottawa to release details about resettlement of Nazi war criminals in Canada

Long overdue:

The Federal Court has ordered the government to publish redacted portions of a report about the resettlement of Nazi war criminals in Canada through a secret CIA program after the Second World War.

The court ruling is the result of legal action by B’nai Brith. The Jewish organization had challenged Ottawa’s decision to keep secret some details of American efforts to help Nazi collaborators enter Canada, contained in a report written 40 years ago.

Unless successfully appealed by the federal government, the ruling will lead to the removal of almost all the redactions in a report written by historian Alti Rodal for the 1985-86 Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, headed by former Quebec judge Jules Deschênes. The commission investigated allegations that Canada had become a safe haven for Nazi war criminals.

Most of Ms. Rodal’s report had already been made public, with further declassified details released in 2024. The Federal Court judgment, issued Tuesday, relates to a section dealing with “irregularities in resettlement of defectors and former agents.” That portion has never been fully disclosed “despite its age and historical importance,” the ruling said.

Judge Simon Fothergill wrote that his considerations had included “the importance of the historical record” and ”the passage of time” in making his decision. …

Source: Court orders Ottawa to release details about resettlement of Nazi war criminals in Canada

For a detailed overview of the history and issues, see Nazi War Criminals in Canada: The known knowns and the known unknowns in Wesley Wark’s substack.