Any war criminals in Canada cannot be deported for alleged crimes committed abroad, said Donald MacDonald, parliamentary secretary to External Affairs Minister Paul Martin, speaking in the Canadian House of Commons. He was replying to H.W. Herridge, a British Columbia New Democrat who said there have been reliable reports that 15 Nazi war criminals are living in Canada.
Mr. MacDonald said the government has a list of alleged war criminals but the Criminal Code does not extend to crimes committed outside Canada. He said there is a basic conflict of interest in the matter; the grave concern that some people are going unpunished for abhorrent crimes and the principle of justice that criminal laws should not be made retroactive.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.