Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs have blocked a motion seeking the disclosure of a secret list of Nazi collaborators who were admitted to Canada after 1945. Blacklock's Reporter says by a 6-5 vote, members of the Commons heritage committee rejected the proposal to compel cabinet to release the names by January 27, 2025.Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan (Chateauguay-Lacolle, Que.) expressed discomfort with the motion. “I am not comfortable proceeding further with this,” she said during the committee meeting.The motion, introduced by New Democrat MP Niki Ashton (Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Man.), aimed to have Library and Archives Canada publish the names of individuals identified in the 1985 Deschênes Commission on War Crimes. The commission had revealed that Nazi collaborators were admitted to Canada after the Second World War with minimal scrutiny.Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux (Drummond, Que.) opposed the motion, citing concerns about the impact on the families of those named, even though most individuals on the list are likely deceased.“This is an extremely delicate situation,” said Champoux. “Were these people Nazis? Not necessarily. Investigation showed the majority of these people were not suspected of anything and were cleared right away.”“These are people who were investigated,” he added. “It was thought there was no need to go further.”The Ukrainian Canadian Congress also opposed releasing the names, with its president, Alexandra Chyczij, stating in a submission to the Commons public safety committee that disclosure would violate the privacy of descendants.Despite opposition, Ashton defended the motion, emphasizing the need for historical transparency. “Canadians deserve to know how, according to the Deschênes Commission, Nazis were welcomed into this country,” she said.“Many Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian organizations have been clear. The names need to be released,” Ashton added.The motion received support only from Conservative MPs.The Deschênes Commission, led by Québec Court of Appeal Justice Jules Deschênes, compiled a confidential list of Nazi collaborators recommended for prosecution, which has never been made public. A research paper declassified earlier this year confirmed that “significant numbers” of war criminals and Nazi collaborators entered Canada after the war.“There can be little doubt that war criminals could have and are likely to have come to Canada in significant numbers in the postwar years,” the report stated.The paper detailed lax screening processes, including a 1948 directive from the RCMP to disregard SS tattoos. Postwar refugees were not fingerprinted or thoroughly questioned about their military service.“During the period from 1946 to 1967, some 620,000 immigrants from European countries where participation in war crimes was extensive were admitted to Canada,” the report noted. “It would be rash to assume that significant numbers of war criminals and Nazi collaborators did not enter Canada.”
