Last fall, Canadians were rightly appalled to learn that an alleged Nazi veteran had been invited to sit in the House of Commons and received a standing ovation from MPs across the political spectrum. The story was not left behind in 2023. Reports now show that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited the Yaroslav Hunka to a special reception. Amid these embarrassing revelations, few have asked: why was a Nazi in Canada anyways?

The unfortunate truth is that Canada is more likely to host a Nazi in Parliament than to prosecute one.

Canada is home to dozens, even hundreds of perpetrators of international crimes – war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It refuses to investigate and prosecute suspected perpetrators in its own courts, despite having the powers to do so. Canadians should rightfully be ashamed that their Members of Parliament – from all parties – stood and applauded a Nazi. And they should also demand that any war criminal who travels to Canada will be prosecuted. 

Canada has its own dark history with Nazism, one that only gets scarce attention. Former Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King admired the Nazis. He groveled for Adolf Hitler’s attention, sought to appease the Nazi leader, and befriended numerous senior Nazi officials. In a forthcoming academic article on the subject, I recount how he did so – and how he later travelled to Nuremberg to watch some of his former Nazi friends as they were prosecuted for war crimes and other atrocities in 1946.

After the end of WWII, Canada became a refuge for war criminals. It sadly remains so to this day. In 1985, the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, also known as the Deschênes Commission, studied how Nazis had gained safe haven in the country following the end of WWII. Some alleged Nazis were eventually prosecuted by Canadian authorities, but numerous high-profile prosecutions failed. 

In 1994, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the acquittal of Imre Finta, a Hungarian police officer who had been charged with, among other things, assisting the Nazis in the deportation of Jews from Hungary. In the early 2010s, Canada also prosecuted individuals involved in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. One led to a conviction, another to an acquittal. The cost of these trials led to a reluctance in Ottawa to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide cases. But perpetrators of these atrocities still call Canada home.

The last time that the government offered statistics on the subject – in 2016 – the Department of Justice estimated that at least 200 perpetrators of international crimes reside in Canada. The Department also made clear that the government was uninterested in investigating and prosecuting these individuals, purportedly because of the price tag. Ottawa’s preference was instead to deport alleged perpetrators whenever possible. 

As I have previously explained, whether or not anyone booted from Canada is subsequently held to account, the government does not care. Dealing with war crimes in Canada is more of a hand-washing exercise than a commitment to justice. If war criminals are deported and assume positions in their home countries only to torment and re-traumatize victims and survivors, the government pays no mind. In its eyes, its role ends at the border. 

This morally bankrupt policy has had tragic consequences. In 2020, Bill Horace – a suspected Liberian war criminal living in London and known to the RCMP – was murdered in front of his children. The main suspect, Keiron Gregory, had been informed of Horace’s home address by his father, a Toronto police officer. The events have made a victim of everyone involved, while the government’s refusal to prosecute Horace for his involvement in war crimes denied his victims – including those living in Canada – justice.

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been impressively resolved in his support for Kyiv. But if an officer from the Russian Armed Forces or a commander in the notorious Wagner Group committed war crimes and then somehow arrived on Canadian soil, what would happen?

While giving testimony to the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, I informed MPs of the answer to that question: according to its own policy, Ottawa’s priority would be to work to deport them, perhaps even back to Russia, with no guarantees that they would be held accountable. 

This refusal to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes must come to an end.

Like its allies in Europe, Canada can investigate and prosecute alleged war criminals under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Under the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, this means that Canada can prosecute such mass atrocities in its own courts, no matter the nationality of the alleged perpetrator or victims. But unlike its allies in Europe, Canada won’t. Instead, it fosters a culture of impunity for international crimes. 

Among others, former Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota rightly apologized and resigned for his role in inviting a Nazi into parliament. But who will apologize for letting perpetrators of mass atrocities to find refuge in Canada, in full view of authorities, and then refusing to prosecute them despite having the resources, tools and laws to do so? 

Canadians as well as victims and survivors of international crimes deserve better. Whenever perpetrators of mass atrocities make it to Canada, they should be investigated and prosecuted. Anything less is an indignity to victims and embarrassment to Canadians.