From the CBC:
“Supreme Court rejects appeal
from ex-Nazi interpreter, clearing way for deportation”
Canada's top court has decided
not to hear an appeal from a 95-year-old ex-Nazi interpreter who was fighting
to retain his Canadian citizenship. The court's decision means the government
is now cleared to begin deportation proceedings against Helmut Oberlander. The
Waterloo, Ont., man has been engaged in a legal battle with the federal
government since 1995, when the RCMP launched an investigation into his alleged
involvement in war crimes during the Second World War. That triggered a process
to strip him of his Canadian citizenship, which he challenged through the
courts. According to the summary of the case filed on the Supreme Court's
website, this is the government's fourth attempt to revoke Oberlander's
Canadian citizenship on grounds that he "significantly misrepresented his
wartime activities" to Canadian immigration officials. Oberlander has said
he was forcibly conscripted by the Nazis when he was 17 years old. As is usual,
the court did not give its reasons for declining to hear the case. Immigration
Minister Marco Mendicino said the Liberal government is pleased with the
Supreme Court's decision. "We remain determined to deny safe haven in
Canada to war criminals and persons believed to have committed or been
complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide," he said in
a statement. "While we do not take citizenship revocation lightly, we
recognize that it is necessary in cases of fraud, false representation or where
the individual knowingly concealed material circumstances." A statement
from Oberlander's family said today's decision is a "departure" from
the judicial protection the family has received in past against
"government abuse." Oberlander survived the Ukrainian famine and
genocide of 1932-33, which Canada recognizes as a genocide committed by the
Soviet regime, the statement said. And because Oberlander was forcibly
conscripted under a threat of death at age 17, the statement added, he was a
child soldier according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child. "Mr. Oberlander immigrated to Canada after years of hardship to
make a life for his family. Now, Mr. Oberlander has been unjustly persecuted
for 24 years by the Government of Canada. Mr. Oberlander has never been charged
with any crime. The Government of Canada has never produced a shred of evidence
against Mr. Oberlander. No such evidence exists because he has never directly
or indirectly contributed to any crime," the statement reads.
'Still innocent,' family says
"Mr. Oberlander was innocent
on the day this case began in 1995, and he is still innocent 24 years later.
Mr. Oberlander is an upstanding member of our community and should live his
remaining years in peace in Canada." Born in 1924 in Ukraine, Oberlander
became a German citizen during the Second World War and applied with his wife
to enter Canada in 1952. He was admitted as a permanent resident two years
later and obtained Canadian citizenship in 1960. As of that date, he no longer
had German citizenship. He is not a Ukrainian citizen either, according to his
lawyer. Bernie Farber is a former CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress who
worked on Nazi cases and is himself the son of a Holocaust survivor. He said
the fact that Oberlander has grown old in Canada should not be a
"prize" to allow him to escape responsibility. "We ought not to
think of those like Oberlander, who enabled the Nazi machinery of genocide, as
they are today — elderly, sickly and near death," he said. "We must remember
them as they were 75 years ago: young, healthy brutes who willingly and
continually terrorized innocent children, babies, men and women. They are not
deserving of our sympathy." The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said
it cannot comment on specific cases, citing privacy laws. As for deportation,
CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said the agency places the highest priority on
removal cases involving national security, organized crime, crimes against
humanity and failed refugee claims.
Travel documents needed for
deportation
Once an individual has exhausted
all legal appeals, she said, they are expected to leave or be removed. Removal
depends in part on foreign governments issuing travel documents. "This
will hopefully bring to a conclusion the final chapter of Canada's sad history
of neglect on the matter of Nazi enablers who illegally gained entry to this
country and received the gift of Canadian citizenship," Farber said. "Helmut Oberlander is the last Nazi
standing in this country. This is not a judicial or governmental success. This
is justice that took a detour, lost its way and found a road back. That is all
it is. We have little here of which to be proud." Oberlander's lawyer,
Ronald Poulton, said his client is the victim of a "gross miscarriage of
justice." He said the law favours his client's case. "It's really a
sad day for the rule of law," he said. Poulton said deporting Oberlander
would be "incredibly cruel," noting his youth when he was recruited
by the Nazis and the fact that he never had a position as a guard or commander.
Oberlander has poor vision and hearing and hasn't held German citizenship since
1960, he said. Shimon Koffler, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and
Jewish Affairs, said Oberlander served in a Nazi "death squad" and
lied about his past to fraudulently gain his Canadian citizenship. "For 24
years, Oberlander has cynically abused Canada's justice system to avoid
prosecution in Germany. Anyone who cares about justice and human rights should
join together in calling on the Government of Canada to immediately initiate
the deportation process. Justice delayed is justice denied," he said in a
statement.
^ Hopefully Canada will kick this
Nazi out and send Germany, Ukraine or whatever country takes him will look into
his wartime role (even at 17 you can do awful things.) In cases like this you
always hear about how old and sick these Nazis currently are, but that doesn’t
mean they should escape what they did decades ago. ^
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