Canada War crimes prosecutions urged By JOSE KAUFMAN Littman. TORONTO — Last month, almost three According to Littman, a representative years after the Deschenes Commission tothe international Simon Wiesenthal Insti- report on war criminals, Canada began _ tute, “the Deschenes Commission was prosecuting exactly one war criminal, Imre established on false pretense. It was estab- Finta, whose trial is currently underway _ lished to prove there are no war criminals in here. It is estimated that 3,000 war criminals | Canada.” came to Canada, some recruited by security Littman, speaking at a banquet for Out- services simply for being anti-communist, look, Canada’s Progressive Jewish Maga- and two-thirds of them are still alive. How zine, didn’t have any kind words for the this situation arose and why these people Deschenes Commission or the long history have not been brought to justice were ques- leading up to it. “It is the government tions dealt with in a recent address by Sol bureaucracy that turned Jewish refugees Wishing you peace, progress & friendship through the decade to the year 2000! Pd ee. SS. as ee Trade Union “Over half a century of Resea rch Bureau research, advocacy and #170, 111 Victoria Drive computer service to the - trade union movement of cee tte aa aca British Columbia.” Season's Greetings _The On-to-Ottawa Historical Society thanks all the individuals and organiza- tions who've supported a video production of the 1935 On-to—Ottawa Trek. To achieve support from major funding organizations we've needed to demonstrate a broad base of community and popular support for this project. You're contribu- tions have made this possible. We are now seeking an agreement for television broadcast and funding of a professional production. We'll keep you posted. (For more information contact us c/o 2149 Parker St., Vancouver, B.C. VSL 2L6) SOL LITTMAN away during the war. It is hard to believe they are now eager to undertake prosecu- tions,” Littman said. “Canadian officials searched for German immigrants following the war ... A memo- randum was written in 1942, updated in 1946, revised in 1956 and so on. The bureaucrats read previous minutes and simply copy them. “When Gerald Kaplan»was minister of justice he tried to bring forward the issue of war criminals. The bureaucrats opposed it and said we couldn’t prosecute criminals in Canada. “T predict only two at most will be tried, the others will die, or claim to be too ill to stand trial,” Littman explained. Littman said that the Deschenes Com- mission had made a big deal about how they wanted to see the Soviet archives but that the Canadian government, responding to pressure from the right-wing Ukrainian community, wouldn’t allow them — a position that angered even the Globe and Mail. But, according to Littman, this was all a smokescreen. “The Americans took a plane to Moscow and within 30 minutes had worked out an agreement about searching the archives. The Deschenes Commission kept proposing criteria. The Soviets said “come over here and we can work things out” but the commission procrastinated for eight months, claimed they didn’t have time, obtained an extension and still didn’t go over. “At an international conference in Lon- don, England, only the Canadians looked unhappy (about getting a list of war crimi- nals) Their attitude was — look at all the work we have to do.” Littman expressed concern that in the - event of war criminal prosecutions in Can- ada “ethnic groups will rush in and make _ the trials a political circus. “The courts are immune to political pres- sure but the press is not,” Littman said. At Littman’s urging, everyone present vowed to write to their MP, the Minister of Justice Doug Lewis and the PM, demand- ing that war criminals be brought to justice. Season's Greetings ) from ‘GRAMMA Publications 2089 Commercial Vancouver, B.C. V5N 4B1 : Phone: 254-7717 20 « Pacific Tribune, December 18, 1989 Alberta pulp mill plan gets flack Protests are growing against the pulp mill mega-projects planned for the Athabaskan and Peace rivers in northern Alberta. The plan involves nine pulp and paper mills either proposed to begin operation or to expand on the two rivers. There is rising concern about both the health effects and the environmental cost of the project. During recent hearings on a $1.3- billion pulp mill proposed by Alberta- Pacific Forest Industries Ltd., a sub- sidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, Dr. Sandy Murray of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) accused the provin- cial conservative government of acting irresponsibly. The AMA has called for a moratorium on the project, citing con- cern over the pollutants, such as toxic dioxins, that will affect the rivers that flow into Saskatchewan and the North- west Territories. First Nations in northern Alberta have also voiced their opposition to the development, one which, they charge, will not only destroy traditional liveli- hoods but the people themselves. A week earlier, southern leaders of the Indian Association of Alberta had came out in support of the project but they were denounced by the northern chiefs. Top spy hound is criticized Mulroney’s decision to appoint media tycoon John Bassett the new chairman of the watchdog committee to monitor the activities of the Canadian Securities Intelligence Service CSIS) has been critic- ized by both federal opposition parties. Bassett, the owner of Baton Broad- casting Inc., replaced Ron Atkey, a former PC cabinet minister, as head of the five member committee. The com- mittee is supposed to keep an eye on the activities of CSIS and to ensure they do not overstep legal boundaries or become overzealous in dealing with “threats to Canadian security.” John Brewin, NDP critic for security issues, denounced the appointment as being in “serious contempt of Parlia- ment.” Temagami bill up to $1 million The Ontario Provincial Police’s attempts to disrupt the Teme-Augama Anishnabai’s blockade of the Red Squir- rel Road in Temagami has cost Ontario taxpayers at least $1 million. Figures for Sept. 15 to Nov. 18 show that the costs so far is $968,090, according to North Bay ~ Superintendent Ed McFadgen. The blockade is scheduled to stay up till the end of the year and the total bill can be expected to rise substantially. Both Native and environmental spo- kespeople have denounced the wastage of money in policing the blockades, argu- ing that the money would be far better spent in developing alternative economic development in the region rather than fighting an aboriginal land claim. Temagami Wilderness Society spo- kesperson Brian Back stated that when the cost of building the Red Squirrel Road is added to the policing costs, the total amount spent approaches $5 mil- lion. Money, he argues, that would be much better spent developing long-term jobs in the area.