Zuzak GRC Report; Wed., Mar. 02, 2005

(1) The newly formed Canadian Citizenship Coalition appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) at Meeting #18 on Feb. 08, 2005. The witnesses included Paul
Grod (Ukr.), Ulrich Frisse (German), Ameena Sultan (Arab), Avvy Go (Chinese), Khurrum Awan (Islamic) and Bill Pidruchney (Ukr.). Their scathing testimony and other relevant material has been archived via a new link on my website titled “CIMM 2005”. (Top link in the centre column.) Or one can go directly to the CIMM 2005 page via
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/cimm05/cimm05.html

(2) The Feb. 16 - Mar. 01, 2005 Issue #04 of the Ukrainian News contains an editorial response to Max Pyziur’s attack on Myron Kuropas. This may be viewed at
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/ukrnews/ukrnews.html

(3) The Feb. 19, 2005 issue of the National Post contains an article by Adrian Humphreys titled “Bounty sought for Nazis”, in which Efraim Zuroff of the Wiesenthal Center continues defaming Canada and Canadians with complete impunity. The article is archived at
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/furman/humphreys20050219NationalPost.html
One will recall that this defamation and disinformation dates back to 1985, when Mr. Zuroff provided a list of names of innocent Canadians to the Deschenes Commission accusing them of war criminality.

(4) The Feb. 25, 2005 issue of the Edmonton Sun contains an article by Tony Blais titled “Excuses don’t cut it”, in which “Shoshana Szlachter, the western regional director of the Edmonton-based Jewish human rights group B’nai Brith, yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5000.” One will recall that in a Mar. 30, 2004 letter to the Edmonton Journal, Ms. Szlachter insisted that persecuting so-called Nazi war criminals was a matter of justice, not revenge:
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/furman/szlachter20040330EdmontonJournal.html

(5) On Feb. 24, 2005, there were articles in the online versions of the Globe and Mail and the National Post referring to $25 million being allotted in Budget 2005 for commemoration of the Ukrainian Internment during WWI, the Chinese head tax restitution and other such "shameful episodes" in Canada’s past.
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/ukrnews/alphonso20050224GlobeMail.html
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/ukrnews/panetta20050224NationalPost.html

Although this item was not mentioned by Ralph Goodale in his Budget speech on Feb. 23, 2005, it is now archived on the parliamentary website at http://www.parl.gc.ca/ as follows:

“As a society, looking to the future can be difficult when troubling memories from Canada’s past go unacknowledged. The Department of Canadian Heritage has worked with Canadian ethnocultural groups who carry such memories with them as a result of events that occurred in Canadian history during times of war, or as a result of immigration policies of the day. The objective of these efforts is to ensure that similar events never occur again. In support of these ongoing efforts, Budget 2005 provides $25 million over the next three years for commemorative and educational initiatives that will highlight the contributions that these groups have made to Canadian society and help build a better understanding among all Canadians of the strength of Canadian diversity.”

However, the archived budget also states:
"Canada’s War Crimes Program was formally established in 1998 as a pilot project, and a coordinated policy framework was designed to ensure that Canada would not provide a "safe haven" to persons involved in World War II or modern war crimes. Since then, Canada has become an international leader through its support for international tribunals and one of the first countries to incorporate the provisions of the International Criminal Court statute into domestic law. Budget 2005 commits $15.6 million per year to continue these efforts to deny impunity to persons involved or complicit in war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity."

(6) On Yahoo.News Feb. 28, 2005, Associated Press reports that the deportation hearing for John Demjanjuk has been postponed until June 30, 2005:
http://www.willzuzak.ca/fc/2001/ap20050228yahoonews.html

(7) Bill Pidruchney is organizing a meeting of the Canadian Citizenship Coalition for 7:30 p.m., Monday, Mar. 07, 2005 in the Centennial Room of the Edmonton Public “Stanley Milner” Library downtown (7 Sir Winston Churchill Square) to prepare for the visit of the Parliamentary Committee on Citizenship & Immigration to Edmonton on Apr. 07, 2005. The evening will consist of three speakers followed by workshops. All ethnic groups and interested people are invited to attend. For further information contact Mr. Pidruchney at 780-450-8862.

Respectfully yours
Will Zuzak, 2005-03-01