Federal government departments advised against releasing the names of 900 alleged Nazi war criminals, fearing that it could fuel Russian propaganda and hurt Ukraine, while posing a threat to the security of surviving SS veterans who settled in Canada after the Second World War.
Earlier this month, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) declined to release a secret report containing the names of alleged Nazi war criminals who settled here after the Second World War in response to Access to Information requests by The Globe and Mail and Jewish organization B’nai Brith.
The decision to keep secret Part 2 of the 1986 Deschênes Commission’s report has been criticized by Jewish groups and historians worldwide. The government has faced calls for decades to release it.
Several government departments, including Justice and Global Affairs, had input into whether to release it under access law. Among the concerns that were raised was the danger of the report being abused by Russia’s propaganda machine to undermine Ukraine.
Global Affairs has repeatedly warned about Russian President Vladimir Putin using disinformation to justify his invasion of Ukraine. It has joined the U.S. and Britain in publicly debunking a Russian claim that Ukraine is overrun by neo-Nazis.
Mr. Putin, in an interview with right-wing U.S. pundit Tucker Carlson earlier this year, seized on and exploited the decision of former House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to invite a veteran of a Ukrainian SS division to a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka received two standing ovations in the Commons and Mr. Rota, who later resigned as Speaker over the matter, praised him as a hero.
Hundreds of members of the Ukrainian SS Galicia Division who settled in Canada after the Second World War are among the names in the unpublished 1986 report.
Richard Provencher, a spokesman for LAC, said the decision to withhold the report “was based on concerns regarding risk of harm to international relations.”
He said authority to disclose the report rested with Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, who has oversight of LAC. She can delegate her authority under the Access to Information Act.
Charles Thibault-Béland, a spokesman for Ms. St-Onge said that “while we value the principle of transparency, it is imperative to release documents in a responsible manner that protects and preserves individual, national and international security.”
“The decision to withhold the Part II Report of the Deschênes Commission was made collaboratively between government and Library and Archives Canada, following advice from officials from a range of departments and in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act,” he said.
He added that the Heritage Department had relied “on the advice of public-security officials who have expertise in these matters, taking into account the geopolitical context at this time.”
Mr. Thibault-Béland said “we will revisit the decision to release these documents at a later time.”
The government believes there is a high risk of exploitation of the report for disinformation. For example, there is not substantiated evidence that all of the 900 named were involved in war crimes.
But David Matas, legal adviser to B’nai Brith, said “by coming to Canada, the members of the Galician SS Division were able to find immunity for their criminality because the Deschênes Commission did not use the Nuremberg Tribunal definition of war criminals, but rather a Canadian-specific limited definition.“
He added that “the notion that releasing the names of the members of the division would somehow assist the Russians in their invasion of Ukraine is perverse.”
“Silence, rather than helping Ukraine and harming Russia, would have the opposite effect,” he said.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said releasing the report would help puncture disinformation by revealing the truth. It said public-safety concerns are exaggerated as most of the alleged war criminals are dead.
“Do we really need to be worried about the safety of Nazis who are no longer living?” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, senior director, policy and advocacy. “Making the documents public will finally give Canadians the chance to see the evidence for themselves and to separate accusation from fact.”
Dr. Catherine Chatterley, founding director of the Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, said “there must be some really big bombshells in the report given this decision to continue to suppress the truth.”
Bernie Farber, founding chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network said “we deserve to have a complete and factual history of these Nazi enablers who lived amongst us.”