Article content continued

In 1999, a Federal Court determined he could be stripped of his Canadian citizenship and denaturalized after it was revealed and that he falsified his name upon immigrating to Canada. But one suspects there was a politicized campaign that triangulated the Ukrainian community against the Jewish community, with Russia pressing both levers. The Canadian government had to choose.

Sadly, justice lost. The result was an inexplicable government decision in 2007 not to revoke his citizenship or even, at the very least, to explore the allegations further.

On April 25, 2012, I flew in a group of Holocaust survivors from Toronto to Ottawa to appeal directly to Rob Nicholson, then Minister of Justice and Jason Kenney, then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. We presented the ministers with the new evidence and encouraged the government to re-open the case and take a closer look. This never happened.

The story did not end there. Russia moved troops into Ukraine soon after. The Canadian government, supported by a large Ukrainian diaspora, rightfully came to the political and economic aid of Ukraine. Prime Minister Harper courageously put President Putin on notice. In retribution, Putin declared some Canadian leaders persona non grata in Russia.

Katriuk and thousands of others like him may have lived out their lives. But they were never free and they were never at peace

The international intrigue continued. Several weeks ago, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center was asked by the Russians to help encourage the Canadian government to push for Katriuk’s extradition. While we agreed with Katriuk’s extradition, participating in Russia’s game of thrones against Canada was a non-starter. We would press for his expulsion on our own.