Canadian federal court rules to release redacted sections of 1986 Nazi resettlement report
The ruling follows longstanding efforts of B’nai Brith Canada to make the entire document public.
On Tuesday, Canada's Federal Court ruled to release redacted portions of a 1986 report detailing Nazi resettlement post-WWII. The report, authored by historian Alti Rodal for the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, focused on the inadequate security screenings of alleged Nazi war criminals and collaborators who arrived in Canada following the end of the war.
According to Rodal's findings, Canadian authorities prioritized identifying communist spies over thorough background checks on Nazi war criminals and collaborators.
Simon Wolle, B'nai Brith Canada's Chief Executive Officer, expressed outrage over the scandal of Nazi war criminals entering Canada during a period of strict Jewish immigration restrictions. Wolle criticized the Canadian government for facilitating the entry of Nazi war criminals while simultaneously thwarting efforts to uncover covert US intelligence programs aimed at resettling Nazis and collaborators in Canada.
The court's decision to release the redacted sections is hailed as a step towards accountability and transparency, essential for maintaining trust in Canada's democratic system of governance. B'nai Brith will persist in its fight for the unsealing of remaining records concerning Nazi war criminals in Canada and the Deschênes Commission. Wolle praised the legal teams involved in the case, including lawyers David Rosenfeld and Michael Wenig, and Professor Jared McBride from UCLA.
In February 2024, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) partially released redacted sections of the report to B'nai Brith following an Access to Information request. However, the 2024 release retained several redactions across seven pages in one section and file numbers from 14 endnotes. The redacted section delves into the discovery of a covert US intelligence program that aimed to resettle Nazis and Nazi collaborators in Canada by bypassing proper security screenings.
Justice Simon Fothergill, who issued the Thursday ruling, dismissed LAC's argument that releasing additional sections would jeopardize Canada's international affairs. Fothergill contended that the public's right to become better informed about Canada's history fosters public debate and fortifies the nation's democracy. Canada's government has 30 days to appeal the court's decision.
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