Canadian Ukrainians protest Sher appointment (01/04/98)

Canadian Ukrainians protest Sher appointment

CALGARY - Canada's Ukrainian community has reacted with dismay to news of the appointment of an American Nazi hunter as a special consultant to the Canadian Ministry of Justice War Crimes Unit.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan defended her decision to appoint Neal Sher, a Washington-based lawyer who served as director of the U.S. Office of Special Investigations in 1983-1994, by saying that he is "one of the world's leading experts in dealing with war criminals."

J. B. Gregorovich, chairman of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, noted that the OSI has been discredited in the U.S. for its unscrupulous tactics in pursuit of alleged Nazi war criminals, its officers having been accused of making use of forged documents and failing to disclose exculpatory evidence.

He added that the Ukrainian Canadian community has expressed grave concerns over Ottawa's drift toward a policy of denaturalizing Canadian citizens then deporting them to other countries rather than bringing alleged war criminals to trial in Canada under Canadian criminal law.

"Basically," said Mr. Gregorovich, "the government has not been able to prove that there are any Nazi war criminals living in Canada. As a result, Ottawa has abandoned the promised 'made in Canada' solution for the easier route of deporting persons without providing convincingly that they are actually guilty of wrongdoing. We find this objectionable."

As for Mr. Sher's appointment, Mr. Gregorovich said: "We find it odd that the government of Canada was not able to locate a Canadian lawyer for this responsible role, as there are many fine unemployed barristers and solicitors in Canada, Jews and non-Jews alike, who could bring the necessary ethical and professional qualifications to bear on these investigations.

"Mr. Sher is a controversial appointee, whose partiality is open to serious question. But perhaps the Minister of Justice had other considerations in making her appointment that she did not wish to share with us. Let the record note that a UCCLA delegation informed the minister in Edmonton several weeks ago about our objections to Mr. Sher being put on a government payroll. She obviously chose to ignore the honestly communicated concerns of her constituents and of our community."