Association of United Ukrainian Canadians
Joint Statement on the Federal Government’s Decision to Suppress Names of Nazi War Criminals in Canada
On behalf of the AUUC, National President Glenn Michalchuk, signed a Joint Statement appealing the Federal Government’s decision to not release Part II (also known as the Rodal Report) of the 1986 Deschênes Commission report on Nazi war criminals in Canada. The Joint Statement was initiated by B'nai Brith, long an advocate for release of the Part II and the names it contains.
Since the final report of the Deschênes Commission, Part II has been kept secret; hiding from Canadians the truth about Canada's accommodation of Nazi war criminals who entered Canada immediately after World War II.
In August 2024, Library and Archives Canada announced it would not release Part II of the report as planned based on the lobbying of special interest groups who opposed its release. At the same time, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said it would go to court to prevent the release of Part II.
In November, the Federal Government agreed with the decision to withhold Part II. In doing so, the Federal Government reneged on its commitment in February 2024 to release the report. In a public statement, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Marc Miller, announced that the Government would release the Rodal Report. He said: “Those who suffered under Nazi Germany and their descendants want transparency when it comes to this shameful chapter in our history,”
AUUC National President Glenn Michalchuk told the Ukrainian Canadian Herald: “The AUUC has long called for a full disclosure of this dark chapter of Canadian history and we support this initiative of B’nai Brith. The continued suppression of this information will no doubt please the special interest groups who (so far) have succeeded in keeping this history secret. The Canadian government learned nothing from the scandal of the Hunka affair.”