Kitchener-Waterloo Record | May 16, 2001 | Will Zuzak

System is flawed

Heartfelt thanks to Frank Etherington for an excellent May 07, 2001 article, Jewish Officials Seek Retraction.

Although I fully support the courageous stand of Kitchener-Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi, I am concerned that the deportation process "angers Telegdi, who wants the law changed so judges, not politicians, have final say on withdrawing citizenship and deportation."

Judges are human beings subject to pressure and error. There is no jury of peers involved and there is no appeal. There are no checks and balances.

The denaturalization and deportation process is so seriously flawed that it should be abandoned. How the Canadian legal profession allowed it to be initiated and the justice system to be subverted is beyond my understanding. Perhaps justice is too important to be left to judges and lawyers.

Will Zuzak
Edmonton, Alta.

http://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters/opinion_letters_01051693754.html

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[W.Z. The original unedited version of this letter sent May 08, 2001 is appended below as "Judges fallible, too"]

May 08, 2001

Kitchener-Waterloo Record
[email protected]

Dear Editor:

Judges fallible, too

Heartfelt thanks to Frank Etherington for an excellent article "Jewish officials seek retraction" in the May 07, 2001 issue of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record.

Although I fully support the courageous stand of MP Andrew Telegdi, I am concerned about the following quotation attributed to him:

"There is no appeal of the deportation decision. That angers Telegdi, who wants the law changed so judges, not politicians, have final say on withdrawing citizenship and deportation."

Judges are human beings subject to pressure and error in the same manner as the rest of us. Both Andrew MacKay in the Oberlander and Odynsky cases and Marc Nadon in the Katriuk case made decisions on a "balance of probabilities" which would be rejected by most Canadians. There is no jury of peers involved and there is no appeal. There are no checks and balances.

In my opinion, the denaturalization and deportation process is so seriously flawed, even in concept, that it should be abandoned. How the Canadian legal profession allowed it to be initiated and allowed Canada's justice system to be subverted is beyond my understanding. Perhaps justice is too important to be left to judges and lawyers.

Sincerely,
Will Zuzak
Edmonton, AB