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Decision of Federal Court (Judge Blais) Declaring Ernst Zundel a Threat to Canadian National Security Zündel (Re) IN THE MATTER OF a certificate signed pursuant to subsection 77(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 ("Act"); AND IN THE MATTER OF the referral of that certificate to the Federal Court pursuant to subsection 77(1), sections 78 and 80 of the Act; AND IN THE MATTER OF Ernst Zündel [2005] F.C.J. No. 314 2005 FC 295 Docket: DES-2-03 Federal Court Toronto, Ontario Blais J. Heard: May 2, 9, 16, July 10, 28, 29, 30, August 26, September 23, 24, November 6, 7, December 10, 11, 2003, January 22, 23, 26, 27, February 9, 12, 18, 19, April 13, 14, 29, 30, May 4, 5, June 9, July 27, August 6, 11, 30, 31, September 14, 16, 17, October 19, 20, November, 1, 2, 5, 23, 2004. Judgment: February 24, 2005. (132 paras.) Counsel: Donald MacIntosh & Pamela Larmondin, for the Minister. Murray Rodych & Toby Hoffman, for the Solicitor General. Peter Lindsay & Chi-Kun Shi, for the respondent. BLAIS J.:— INTRODUCTION ¶ 1 On May 1, 2003, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Solicitor General of Canada (the Ministers) signed a certificate stating that Ernst Zündel, a permanent resident of Canada, is inadmissible on grounds of security, specifically, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Zündel is inadmissible pursuant to sections 33, 34(1)(c), (d), (e) and (f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c.27 (Immigration Act or IRPA). ¶ 2 Sections 33 and 34 of IRPA:
¶ 3 On May 1, 2003, the Ministers also signed a warrant for Mr. Zündel's arrest pursuant to subsection 82(1) of the IRPA. That same day, by teleconference, as a designated judge of the Federal Court, I commenced the hearing into the reasonableness of the certificate and the reasons for detention, in accordance with paragraph 78(d) and subsection 83(1) of the IRPA. 78. The following provisions govern the determination: ...
¶ 4 After reviewing the material filed in support of the certificate, I ordered on May 5, 2003, that Mr. Zündel be provided with a statement summarizing the information and evidence pursuant to paragraph 78(h) of the IRPA (the Summary) and that Mr. Zündel be provided with an opportunity to be heard. Five binders containing hundreds of documents were also provided to Mr. Zündel; these were the background documents referred to in the Summary. Other documents remained classified and were not disclosed to Mr. Zündel because I have determined that the information and the evidence contained in those documents would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person if disclosed. OVERVIEW ¶ 5 The position of the Ministers is that the certificate is reasonable and that based on the information and evidence available, Mr. Zündel is inadmissible to Canada on security grounds. The basis of that belief is that Mr. Zündel's status within the White Supremacist Movement (the Movement) is such that he is a leader and ideologue who inspires, influences, supports and directs adherents of the Movement to actuate his ideology. ¶ 6 It is important to note that Mr. Zündel's views on the Holocaust had been known for years, but were of no concern to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). They may well have been an irritant to many and may have been considered as vile and perverse, but they were not enough to label him as a security threat. Rather, the investigations only began when Mr. Zündel crossed the boundaries of free speech and pursuant to the Ministers' opinion, entered the realm of incitement to hatred and potential political violence in relation to the White Supremacist Movement. ¶ 7 The Ministers also suggest that Mr. Zündel intends serious violence to be a consequence of his influence and to this extent, Mr. Zündel is engaged in the propagation of serious political violence to a degree commensurate with those who actually execute the acts. It is these alleged activities that the Ministers believe make Mr. Zündel inadmissible to Canada on security grounds. ¶ 8 In his response, Mr. Zündel argues that he is merely a 65 year old man, who has lived peacefully in Canada from 1958 to 2000, that he has no criminal record in Canada and faces no criminal charges in Canada. ¶ 9 Mr. Zündel suggests that CSIS has no evidence that during his stay in Canada, he ever:
¶ 10 Mr. Zündel firmly insists that there is nothing in the evidence that could lead him to be inadmissible on one of the grounds of inadmissibility provided by section 34 of the IRPA. He further suggests that not only does CSIS have no case against him, but that it decided to begin these proceedings on a vendetta against him which was in no way justified. ¶ 11 Finally, Mr. Zündel suggests that he is thus at the mercy of a secret proceeding and of the judge conducting it. He is not aware of the evidence that is provided in camera and he cannot provide any response to the arguments that have been made in camera. ¶ 12 The decision of the designated judge must be made with reference to sections 80 and 81 of the IRPA, which provide:
¶ 13 In Almrei v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2004 FC 420, [2004] F.C.J. No. 509, at paragraphs 28-32 and 35, this Court decided that the jurisprudence applicable to the security certificate scheme under the former Immigration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c.I-2, also applies to determinations under the current IRPA scheme. ISSUES ¶ 14
STANDARD OF PROOF ¶ 15 This Court, as well as the Federal Court of Appeal, have already determined the test to be applied in cases such as this (See Baroud v. Canada, [1995] F.C.J. No. 829, 98 F.T.R. 91, at paragraph 5; Re Charkaoui, [2004] 1 F.C.R. 528, [2003] F.C.J. No. 1119, at paragraphs 36-39; Yao v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2003 FCT 741, [2003] F.C.J. No. 948, at paragraph 28; Re Zündel, 2004 FC 1295, [2004] F.C.J. No. 1564, at paragraph 26). To demonstrate that the certificate is reasonable, the Ministers must only demonstrate that there is a serious possibility, based on credible evidence, that Mr. Zündel is inadmissible on one of the grounds of inadmissibility provided by section 34 of the IRPA. In fact, the Ministers do not have to conclusively demonstrate any of the allegations of inadmissibility. As was stated at paragraph 60 of Chiau v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2001] 2 F.C. 297 (C.A.), [2000] F.C.J. No. 2043, leave to Supreme Court of Canada denied August 16, 2001, [2001] S.C.C.A. No. 71:
¶ 16 As for the requirement that the different paragraphs of subsection 34(1) of the IRPA be read disjunctively from one another, and as per Almrei v. Canada (M.C.I.), supra, which permits jurisprudence under the previous law to be applied to the current one, I would refer to Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Singh (1998), 151 F.T.R. 101, [1998] F.C.J. No. 1147:
¶ 17 It should be noted that although I cite the Almrei case in applying jurisprudence relating to the previous immigration law, the new legislation is very similar in that subsection 77(1) of the IRPA clearly uses the conjunction "or" in listing the grounds for a certificate. Furthermore, subsection 34(1) lists the inadmissible security grounds as different paragraphs separated with the conjunction "or", as did subsection 19(1) of the previous law. ¶ 18 Contrary to counsel for Mr. Zündel's submissions that the Ministers must demonstrate Mr. Zündel's current or future wrongdoings, pursuant to section 33 of the IRPA, the Ministers can provide evidence or information of past, present or anticipated future circumstances of Mr. Zündel's inadmissibility on security grounds. In Al Yamani v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2003 FCA 482, [2003] F.C.J. No. 1931, leave to Supreme Court of Canada denied August 26, 2004, [2004] S.C.C.A. No. 62, the Federal Court of Appeal recognized that the past conduct of individuals, particularly those who have engaged in activities which constitute a threat to the security of Canada, must be considered in the determination concerning inadmissibility:
¶ 19 Counsel for Mr. Zündel has insisted that Mr. Zündel was never involved in acts of violence. I would point out that there is no requirement that an individual who is inadmissible to Canada on security grounds be personally involved in acts of violence. Such an interpretation is short-sighted and not in keeping with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada in Suresh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2002] 1 S.C.R. 3, that danger to the security be given a "fair, large and liberal interpretation". There is therefore no requirement that criminality be determined in order for a permanent resident or a foreign national to be found to be a danger to the security of Canada (Suresh v. Canada (M.C.I.), supra, at paragraph 85; see also Almrei v. Canada (M.C.I.), supra, at paragraphs 99 and 100). Rather, as mentioned earlier, the threat that a person may constitute a danger to the security of Canada must be substantial and based on an objectively reasonable suspicion.
¶ 20 In Suresh, the Federal Court of Appeal held that activities which are undertaken in support of a furtherance of terrorist activities such as funding, are reprehensible and not worthy of constitutional protection:
¶ 21 The Federal Court of Appeal also held that consideration of what constitutes a danger to the security of Canada must include consideration of Canada's international relations:
¶ 22 This is also supported by paragraph 3(1)i) of the IRPA, which lists as an objective of the Act:
...
[...] ANALYSIS ¶ 23 Pursuant to the Security Intelligence Report of which Mr. Zündel was provided a summary, White Supremacists are defined as racists, neo-Nazis and anti-Semites who use violence to achieve their political objectives. Leading White Supremacists may inspire others to use or threaten use of violence. Mr. Zündel is viewed by White Supremacists as a leader of international significance and was viewed as the patriarch of the Movement in Canada for decades. Mr. Zündel is one of the world's most prominent distributors of revisionist neo-Nazi propaganda through the use of facsimiles, courier, telephone, mail, media, shortwave radio transmissions, satellite videos and the Internet, through his website the Zundelsite, which is a platform for financing and contains White Supremacist documents as well as hyperlinks to other White Supremacist websites. The Security Intelligence Report concludes that based on the evidence that has been provided, Mr. Zündel is playing a critical role in the Movement, both in Canada and internationally. ¶ 24 Documents issued by Mr. Zündel over the years show his intention to destabilize the legal and legitimate democratic government of Germany. The evidence also demonstrates a clear determination to disseminate copious amounts of documentation and information from Canada to Germany, using Canadian soil to advance his goal of undermining the German government. ¶ 25 Furthermore, the Ministers have provided public and in camera evidence that Mr. Zündel has extensive involvement with contacts within the violent, racist, right wing movement. These contacts encompass individuals and organizations in Canada and abroad. ¶ 26 Mr. Zündel has always supported the ideology of the White Supremacist Movement, one which is based on the fundamental belief that the white race is an endangered species in need of protection as a result of non-Whites and Jews seeking to attack the foundation of western civilization. Blacks in particular are seen as intellectually inferior, while Jews are viewed as conspiring to gain control of the world through manipulation of financial markets, the spread of communism, pornography and general moral degeneracy. The government is viewed with suspicion as it is seen to be controlled by a Jewish conspiracy referred to as zionist occupation government (ZOG). These fundamental beliefs lead to antisemitic, racist, anti-immigration, anti-democratic, anti-human rights and anti-homosexual attitudes. ¶ 27 The Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s is notoriously well known; what is less known, is the Canadian version which was developed over the 1940s and the 1950s under Adrien Arcand, who promoted Hitler as a saviour of Christianity and formed the Parti national social chrétien in the 1930s. That party then merged with the Canadian Nationalist Party from the West to form the National Unity Party. Later in the 1960s, the Canadian Nazi Party became the National Socialist Party and Mr. Zündel explained how he was influenced by Mr. Arcand himself whom he met when he arrived in Canada in the 1950s. At the conclusion of World War II, the enthusiasm of those Nazi parties around the world was greatly reduced; nevertheless, there still remained some desire to support this neo-Nazi approach. Mr. Zündel is among the few people that worked hard to maintain that support and who went to great lengths to try and establish some credibility to the neo-Nazi movement. He also tried by all means possible to develop and maintain a global network of all groups that have an interest in the same right wing extremist neo-Nazi mind-set. ¶ 28 The Ministers filed as evidence a document by the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), entitled The Heritage Front Affair Report. The Ministers zeroed in on a particular part of this report and I quote:
¶ 29 In my decision on the detention review rendered January 21, 2004, I mentioned at paragraph 27:
¶ 30 Mr. Zündel was given the opportunity to respond to these findings; he also had the possibility of providing witnesses that could address, explain and give a more adequate and real picture of his true relationship with these people. Mr. Zündel opted to pass up this opportunity and to keep the nature of his affiliation with these people private. Although for reasons of national security, I cannot expose in detail the discrepancies between what Mr. Zündel said and the information that I have received in camera from different sources, I will revisit some of these inconsistencies later in my analysis. Mr. Zündel's Associations ¶ 31 The relationships that Mr. Zündel has with the people identified in the Summary and in my decision rendered January 21, 2004, as well as the precise role that Mr. Zündel played within the White Supremacist Movement in Canada, spans a period of more than two decades. ¶ 32 The analysis of the public documents provided by the Ministers and the evidence that was heard over the 43 days of public hearings in this case, depict a man who publicly, has always tried to demonstrate his opposition to violence. ¶ 33 Nevertheless, for more than 20 years, Mr. Zündel continuously maintained close relationships with individuals around the world who are clearly identified as members of the White Supremacist Movement. Mr. Zündel admitted in his own testimony that through different means of communication, he is in touch with people in 42 countries. ¶ 34 Mr. Zündel maintained a close association with Wolfgang Droege and even admitted that he believed Mr. Droege was involved in terrorist activities in the United States, including attempting to invade the small Republic of Dominica to establish a White Supremacist Government. Mr. Zündel's house on Carlton Street in Toronto was akin to a revolving door for Mr. Droege, as well as every other member of the White Supremacist Movement in Canada or from abroad. These members were always welcome at his house, which had transformed from a residence, into a command centre for people and organizations worldwide involved in the White Supremacist Movement. ¶ 35 Furthermore, Wolfgang Droege and Marc Lemire, two successive presidents of the Heritage Front, spent a lot of time in Mr. Zündel's house. Mr. Lemire, the last known president of the Heritage Front, was working for Mr. Zündel part-time, and then full-time for many years until Mr. Zündel left for the United States. ¶ 36 Mr. Zündel also maintained a close association with Terry Long and the Aryan Nations. Mr. Long was a very zealous activist in Canada, and was depicted as one of the most extreme of the leaders of the Aryan Nations, an organization founded by Richard Butler in 1974 that has among its goals, the elimination of Jews and all minorities, as well as the creation of a White homeland in the North Western United States. ¶ 37 It is troubling to hear Mr. Zündel proclaim that he is defending freedom of expression and advocating the use of non-violence, while at the same time, spending most of his time working in close quarters with the most extreme individuals and organizations in the White Supremacist Movement. ¶ 38 If, as Mr. Zündel claims, he is not on side with extremists, is not on side with people claiming that the Jews should be eliminated and is not on side with Canadian members of the Heritage Front that wanted to create a list of members of the Jewish Movement for future retaliation, then how can he agree to participate in a meeting of the Heritage Front as a guest speaker, surrounded and supported by members of extremist White Supremacist groups in Canada? ¶ 39 If, as Mr. Zündel said, the Heritage Front, a group described as the most powerful racist gang to hit Canada since the real Nazis back in the Dirty Thirties, was not a good idea, then why would he hire the president of that organization, Mr. Lemire, as a part-time and then full-time employee in his own personal residence? ¶ 40 If, as Mr. Zündel stated, Mr. Droege is a terrorist and was totally ill-advised with everything he has done, be it in the United States or as leader of the Heritage Front, then how can he allow him to enter his house on a daily basis? ¶ 41 If, as Mr. Zündel claims, it is not a good idea to use websites to disseminate messages of racial hatred and incite violence in the pursuit of White Supremacist objectives and that it is not a good idea to post on the Internet a practical guide to Aryan revolution which included chapters on assassinations, terror bombings, sabotage and racial wars, then why would he qualify Bernard Klatt, the man responsible for posting this guide, as a gentle person, and maintain contact with Mr. Klatt over the years? ¶ 42 If, as Mr. Zündel believes, Tom Metzger is a violent person involved in criminal activities and in promoting a campaign of hatred which led to the beating death of an Ethiopian immigrant by two skinheads in the United States, for which Mr. Metzger had to subsequently pay a $12.5 million judgment after being found responsible by a civil court of that beating, and if he disagrees with the kind of racist cartoons made by and promoted by Mr. Metzger, and if he thinks that the White Aryan Resistance Hate Page website, which depicted grotesque and disgusting pictures of Negro and Jewish cartoons is not a good idea, then why does he cooperate with Mr. Metzger, Mr. Butler and the Aryan Nations? ¶ 43 If, as Mr. Zündel was well aware, Bela Ewald Althans was convicted, among other things of incitement to hatred under German law, and imprisoned after being found guilty of denying the Holocaust and insulting the state and the memory of the dead and if Mr. Zündel knew that the presiding judge has called Mr. Althans "a moral arsonist" who is not a violent man but is still just as dangerous to the community, then why did he keep Mr. Althans as his personal representative in Europe and in Canada to disseminate his publications and organize tours for him in Europe? ¶ 44 If, as Mr. Zündel acknowledged, Dennis Mahon and the Oklahoma Excalibur were involved in extremist comments, even advocating revolution and a violent overthrow of the Canadian Government in a meeting in Canada in 1992, then why did he agree to assist Mr. Mahon in designing a cover page for his publication? ¶ 45 These serious contradictions required explanation; if Mr. Zündel did not subscribe to the views expressed by all those people and organizations, then he should have clearly expressed, both publicly and privately, his total opposition to the kind of material, propaganda, violence and hatred promoted by those individuals and associations. I simply cannot accept the proposition that Mr. Zündel is a pacifist, while at the same time, he continues to maintain a close association and to support the above-mentioned extremists. ¶ 46 In my view, although Mr. Zündel was not impressed by the lack of subtlety of those people and organizations, he nevertheless cooperated with them, feeling it was better to have some support, than to go it alone. But he simply cannot depict himself as a champion of free speech and of non-violence, while spending most of his time in touch with people who promote the opposite. Mr. Zündel could not forever sit on the fence, and in my view, he fell to one side. He decided to associate himself with all those people, including extremists and members of the White Supremacist Movement. The evidence spanning over more than two decades shows me that only one person, George Burdi, a prominent figure in the Canadian Movement, was excluded from Mr. Zündel's house; if Mr. Zündel had seriously intended to distance himself from those people and those organizations, all of them would have been excluded from his house. Maybe, rather than being an open and welcoming atmosphere, 280 Carlton Street would have been a revolving door to throw out those violent and extremist individuals, and to demonstrate a clear intention to distance himself from them. ¶ 47 Rather, Mr. Zündel decided to keep a veil of uncertainty over the situation and lead the people in the White Supremacist Movement to believe that he was on their side, while leading all others to believe that he was opposing their extremist incitations to violence and hatred. ¶ 48 That being said, a more in-depth look at the evidence is necessary. Mr. Zündel did not expose his real relationship with Mr. Droege. On the one hand, Mr. Zündel's testimony was that he never discussed Heritage Front matters with Mr. Droege, but that he was simply consulted by Mr. Droege on questions of history. On the other hand, Mr. Christie, former counsel for Mr. Zündel and a long-time friend, testified that when Mr. Zündel was with Mr. Droege, he spent much of his time admonishing him over his involvement with violent activities. I am convinced that Mr. Zündel was involved with Mr. Droege to a much larger extent than was presented by him and his witness. He knew very well that Mr. Droege was involved in the Heritage Front and other similar activities, yet Mr. Zündel still supported and provided him with advice on a continuous basis. In fact, I strongly believe that Mr. Zündel needed someone like Mr. Droege to maintain contact with the most extremist members of the Movement, while keeping for himself the more prestigious television program appearances, interview requests and podium speeches. ¶ 49 I also have reservations concerning the scope of Mr. Zündel's knowledge of Mr. Lemire and his involvement in the Heritage Front. I believe that Mr. Zündel was well aware of Mr. Lemire's presidency and particularly of the efforts of Mr. Lemire, a computer expert, to develop websites to disseminate messages of racial hatred and to incite violence. Based on reliable evidence provided to me in camera, I believe that Mr. Zündel was in close association with Mr. Lemire, who was working full-time in Mr. Zündel's house until his departure for the United States in 2000. Furthermore, I also believe that Mr. Lemire had access to Mr. Zündel's website. Mr. Christie testified that Mr. Lemire was constantly admonished by Mr. Zündel about his behaviour; should I therefore believe Mr. Zündel's testimony that he never discussed Heritage Front business in his house with Mr. Lemire? In my view, Mr. Zündel and Mr. Lemire did in fact discuss Heritage Front matters in his house but most probably in Mr. Christie's absence. ¶ 50 I am far from being convinced that the relationship between Mr. Long, Leader of the Aryan Nations, and Mr. Zündel, consisted of a single meeting during the past 15 years and was limited to a 10 minute encounter in Calgary. Rather, based on reliable evidence provided to me in camera, I believe that Mr. Zündel maintained a much closer association with Mr. Long over those years and that Mr. Zündel simply decided not to elaborate, nor to provide a truthful description of his real relationship with Mr. Long. ¶ 51 In cross-examination, Mr. Zündel tried to reduce the importance of his relationship with members of the White Supremacist Movement such as Terry Long and John Ross Taylor. I think it is interesting to quote from the Kane v. Church of Jesus-Christ Christian-Aryan Nations, Alberta Board of Inquiry, February 29, 1992 decision, in which the Board examined events in Provost, Alberta. In its findings regarding Mr. Long and others, the Board stated:
¶ 52 Based on reliable evidence provided to me in camera, I also believe that Mr. Zündel maintained close contacts with Mr. Klatt who ran Fairview Technology Centre Limited, an Internet service provider which offered access to at least 12 White Supremacy and hate groups. Among the groups that utilized the service were the Heritage Front, the Euro Canadian Defence League - both members of Mr. Lemire's freedom site - the U.S. Nazi Party and the Charlemagne Hammerskins. ¶ 53 I believe that Mr. Zündel maintained a relationship over the years with Mr. Metzger, who is the founding leader of White Aryan Resistance (WAR), a violent skinhead group. Mr. Metzger distributed instructional handbooks on terrorism and guerilla warfare to his White American Political Association which included titles such as The Anarchist's Cookbook, The White Man's Bible, White Power and the Turner Diaries. ¶ 54 Mr. Zündel also worked in cooperation with Mr. Mahon and the Oklahoma Excalibur. Mr. Mahon is the former Grand Wizard of the Oklahoma White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and publisher and editor of the White Supremacist publication the Oklahoma Excalibur. Mr. Mahon attempted to enter Canada in 1993 but was arrested at the airport and deported on the belief that his presence would incite racial hatred. Mr. Zündel contacted him and offered to redesign the front page of the Oklahoma Excalibur in exchange for rare World War II documents. Mr. Zündel's assistance to Mr. Mahon regarding the Oklahoma Excalibur was done without regard to the content of that publication. One of the sections in the Oklahoma Excalibur titled The Last Chance stated:
¶ 55 Another portion from the same edition of the Oklahoma Excalibur in the section titled White Revolution stated:
¶ 56 In my view, Mr. Zündel's acceptance to work on the design of the Oklahoma Excalibur was an opportunity to improve the quality of the media presentation. Nevertheless, he did nothing to improve or to change the quality of the content which is extremely racist and a clear incitation to violence and hatred against Jews, Blacks and homosexuals. ¶ 57 Along with Mr. Mahon, Mr. Butler was also an editor for the Oklahoma Excalibur. In 2000, a civil jury awarded a $6.3 million dollar judgment against Mr. Butler in connection with an assault against a woman and her son. He was forced to sell his 20 acre compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho, to pay the judgment. ¶ 58 Mr. Zündel stayed in touch with Mr. Butler, the founder of the Aryan Nations. As recently as July 2002, the Aryan Nations' website defined its ideology as follows:
¶ 59 Regarding Mr. Zündel's relationship with Mr. Althans, based on conclusive evidence provided to me in public and in camera, I believe it is much more extensive than presented during the hearings; in fact, Mr. Althans worked for Mr. Zündel for many years and was provided funds to work for him and to distribute his material in Europe, particularly in Austria and Germany. ¶ 60 As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Althans was charged, convicted and incarcerated. What should be noted is that Mr. Zündel was using Canada as a safe haven to distribute and disseminate hate propaganda and revisionist material in Europe through Mr. Althans, fully aware that this was a crime in countries like Austria and Germany. ¶ 61 I have also reviewed conclusive evidence that Mr. Zündel maintained close ties with Sweden-based revisionist Ahmed Rami and his Radio-Islam Internet page, website to which the Zundelsite kept a hyperlink. In 1990, Mr. Rami was sentenced to six months of imprisonment in Sweden for anti-Semitism. Regardless of Mr. Rami's criminal record, as well as his notoriety as one of the most virulent Islamic voices against Israel and being labelled as the most dangerous anti-Semite in Sweden, Mr. Zündel used Mr. Rami and Radio-Islam to propagate his anti-Semitic views. Mr. Zündel as the Guru of the Right ¶ 62 Mr. Zündel seems to thrive in this troubled sea surrounded by ambiguity and hypocrisy. The most flagrant example of this hypocrisy is when he paid to bring two Black witnesses from Florida to the United Kingdom to testify at the trial of his friend Nick Griffin, National Chairman of the neo-Nazi group the British National Party, in hopes of demonstrating that he and Mr. Griffin were not racists and were totally opened to multiculturalism.
A. That's right; I did. ...
¶ 63 His friend Mr. Douglas Christie, who testified on Mr. Zündel's behalf after having acted as counsel in this very case for more than a year, expressed his views on the general atmosphere in the Zündel's house and about Mr. Zündel's beliefs:
¶ 64 I am not even sure that Mr. Christie, when he was quoting his friend Mr. Zündel, realized how cynical and racist that particular sentence was; how can you think that only White men should have high standards? No one should doubt that every person should strive to be at the highest standard, not only the White people. ¶ 65 As Mr. Zündel himself said in an interview on a segment of the Fifth Estate aired on February 3, 1993:
Mr. Zündel also mentioned that:
¶ 66 Further on in the Fifth Estate segment, Mr. Althans was also interviewed:
...
¶ 67 And at the conclusion of the interview:
¶ 68 It seems obvious that Mr. Zündel needs a support base. Mr. Zündel might prefer to have more credible people such as university professors and academics supporting his views and ideas regarding the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler; in the absence of such support, he has no choice but to gather around him people like Mr. Droege, Mr. Lemire, Mr. Newhook, Mr. Althans, Mr. Metzger, Mr. Butler, Mr. McAleer and others. Mr. Zündel, even if he is not supportive of their more radical and demonstrative ideas, recognizes the efforts of organizations such as the Aryan Nations and the White Aryan Resistance (Mr. Metzger's group). Mr. Zündel believes that the White Supremacist Movement needs them to survive. ¶ 69 Mr. Zündel has himself admitted that he has a large ego. He tried to diminish the importance of his admission that he was somehow a "guru of the right". Nevertheless, he is proud of the influence he has on all the people and organizations that are mentioned in the Summary. He always tries to distance himself from the violence and extremist views proliferated by those people and organizations, but he does not want to severe these ties; he wants to maintain his influence on them. He did not want to be seen as a leader of the Heritage Front, he even mentioned that he was not a member of that organization. But the leaders of this organization were spending most of their time in his house to hear his suggestions and to follow his advice. I remember how proud he was when he mentioned in cross-examination that his Zundelsite received hits from 400,000 people a month, and that after his arrest, the number grew to 1.2 million people accessing his website every month; his tone and body language were more telling than anything of the proudness he had, realizing that after decades, more than a million people every month were in touch with his writings. The Zundelsite ¶ 70 Regarding his relationship with the Zundelsite, Mr. Zündel tried to explain that he had no control whatsoever over this website. He mentioned that his wife, Ingrid Rimland, had access to the site through passwords, which were unknown to him:
A. My wife, my current wife. Q. Who has the password to it?
Q. Do you ever dictate what goes up there? A. I do not. Q. Who determines what goes onto the -- A. She does. Q. Who determines what comes off of it?
... BY MR. MacINTOSH
¶ 71 Mr. Zündel would have me believe that his own wife refused to divulge to him the password to the Zundelsite. I am not the only one to doubt his wife's monopoly; the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) also found that Mr. Zündel was in control of the Zundelsite (Citron v. Zündel, [2002] C.H.R.D. No. 1). The CHRC determined that Mr. Zündel and his Zundelsite were in violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act for disseminating material fostering hatred and contempt in Canada, and Mr. Zündel was ordered to remove the offending sections from his website. ¶ 72 Mr. Zündel described the CHRC as a Canadian "hick" Tribunal, mentioning that it had no control over him when he was living in the United States. So, what happens now, since the United States has deported him and he now wants to stay and live in Canada? His answer today is that he has no control over the website but that his wife is managing it from Tennessee and that we should therefore believe his suggestion that he is not involved in the management of the Zundelsite. In my view, this is yet another attempt by Mr. Zündel to exploit Canada as a safe haven. ¶ 73 One of the Zundelsite documents presented to the Court bore Mr. Zündel's electronic signature; he mentioned that he was not aware of that, that he never put his name at the bottom of the article on the website. Nevertheless, after further querying by myself, he finally admitted that he agreed with the content of the article and that he would not do anything to distance himself from it. Again, his evidence is internally inconsistent: his wife posts articles on the website under the name of Ernst Zündel, she has full authority over the website, he maintains that he has no control nor knowledge of the material posted, but in the end, he says that he agrees with the articles posted by his wife on the Zundelsite. In my view, if Mr. Zündel disagreed with the content, he would never let anyone use a website bearing his name to disseminate information and propaganda worldwide. The Pipe Bomb Affair ¶ 74 Mr. Zündel has suggested that CSIS has a vendetta against him. Mr. Zündel advanced the theory that CSIS has deliberately put together a case to trap him and deport him from Canada. Among various allegations, there is a serious one referring to a bomb that was delivered through the mail, to Mr. Zündel's Toronto home. Mr. Zündel also relied on Andrew Mitrovica's book, Covert Entry, particularly at pages 138-140 in which the author quoted John Farrell, who testified in the present case. In fact, what is written in the book and what was said by Mr. Farrell while in the box are considerably different. It is obviously true that Mr. Zündel received a bomb. It is also true that Mr. Farrell was a Canada Post employee who testified that he was working at a Canada Post office in Toronto, intercepting a portion of the mail addressed to Mr. Zündel. ¶ 75 However, Mr. Farrell clearly explained that he was told by a CSIS employee in Toronto to temporarily stop intercepting parcels addressed to Mr. Zündel after it had been known that a bomb had been sent to Mr. Zündel. This notice was provided for the personal protection of the mail handlers. CSIS did not know that bombs were sent to different people in Alberta and in Ontario, until they were received by the different recipients, including Mr. Zündel. ¶ 76 It has been clearly demonstrated by evidence provided in public and also partly in camera that there is no merit to the allegation that CSIS knowingly allowed a bomb to be delivered to Mr. Zündel. There was no information supporting the contention that CSIS either assisted, permitted or was active in trying to harm Mr. Zündel with a bomb. Mr. Farrell clearly confirmed this in his testimony. CSIS had no knowledge of Mr. Zündel being a specific target prior to his receipt of a package bomb in the mail, which was then turned over to the police. ¶ 77 Through his counsel, Mr. Zündel asked many questions of Mr. Farrell regarding his work for CSIS. Objections to many of those questions were sustained because the answers would have been injurious to national security, or because the questions had no relation to Mr. Zündel, or because they were quite simply irrelevant. Nonetheless, the mainstay of Mr. Zündel's witness, Mr. Farrell, was that he had not seen anything wrong with the way CSIS was dealing with Mr. Zündel.
¶ 78 I have carefully reviewed the testimony of Mr. Farrell and it is quite apparent that he was unhappy with the termination of his employment, and tried to get a better deal when he left. In fact, he filed a statement of claim in Federal Court asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was eventually struck out and his action dismissed. Mr. Farrell testified that he apparently reached a settlement before the Small Claims Court for an undisclosed amount of money. ¶ 79 Faced with the discrepancies between Mr. Farrell's version of the events in the book Covert Entry and those given in his sworn testimony before me, I have no hesitation in relying on his viva voce testimony, rather than his hearsay in Mr. Mitrovica's book, in determining that there was no truth in the allegations that CSIS had knowingly allowed the delivery of a bomb to Mr. Zündel. ¶ 80 I did however express concern with the facts brought to my attention during the examination in chief of Mr. Zündel. I asked counsel for the Ministers to look for information surrounding the receipt by Mr. Zündel, of that pipe bomb.
¶ 81 Many documents relating to the trial of those accused of sending the bombs were subsequently entered into evidence. The list included:
¶ 82 The judge hearing the case rendered many decisions, one of which ordered the disclosure of certain Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) master files. However, RCMP spokesperson Manon Eburne stated that the RCMP had collaborated with several outside agencies on the case and that they had an obligation not to release any information which "would compromise the identity of any information source or any international partner agencies." The RCMP therefore felt it would be contrary to public interest to reveal the sources and decided to withdraw some of the charges, including among others, the one concerning Mr. Zündel. Ms. Eburne added that "the decision was made after the RCMP was directed by a B.C. Supreme Court order to disclose information relating to the investigation which the RCMP felt must remain confidential." (exhibit D-63) This file speaks for itself, it is not under my jurisdiction and I will not comment on it any further, except to say that it adds little, if anything of value, in determining if the certificate issued is reasonable. The FBI's Case Against Mr. Zündel ¶ 83 Sometime in November 2004, counsel for Mr. Zündel provided new evidence from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This report is of little probative value and cannot in any way displace the huge amount of evidence pointing to Mr. Zündel's involvement with right wing extremists around the world over a period of almost 20 years before his departure from Canada. ¶ 84 I have included the most relevant parts of the report below:
¶ 85 Although the report's lack of evidence implicating Mr. Zündel in any criminal or subversive activities in the United States may seem compelling, it covers a period of only four months, from February 2001, until May 2001. It should be noted that the majority of the report is based on the information and belief of a single source that "is not in a position to testify", and that no interview was conducted with Mr. Zündel until after the FBI's investigation was closed. Furthermore, the report makes mention of the fact that Mr. Zündel was "out of status", meaning that he had come to the United States as a visitor, but overstayed his six-month visit window. Mr. Zündel was informed of this and advised to come in for an interview to try and rectify the situation. ¶ 86 One would be very ill advised to be involved in any criminal or seditious activities while already having been flagged by the FBI as being in the United States illegally, not to mention the fact that Mr. Zündel was in the process of acquiring his U.S. citizenship. Mr. Zündel is well aware of the difficulties he encountered in Canada while trying to acquire his citizenship and probably thought it wiser to stay out of the limelight in the mountains of Tennessee for that period. It is for these reasons that I accord little weight to the FBI report. The Security Certificate Process ¶ 87 As I mentioned publicly during the hearing, I understand Mr. Zündel's frustration regarding his inability to access the classified information; nevertheless, I carefully reviewed the classified material and decided that it was not possible to provide more information than was provided in the Summary, as the classified information would be injurious to national security and to the safety of persons if disclosed. ¶ 88 Counsel for Mr. Zündel made reference to an article by my colleague Justice Hugessen. I find that the context of that article was aptly framed by my colleague Justice Dawson, and I am content to quote and adopt as my own her analysis in Re Harkat, supra, at paragraph 47:
¶ 89 The role of the designated judge is not to make the law, but simply to apply it in respect of everybody's rights, including the fundamental rights of a country like Canada to look after its security and the security of its citizens. I have been and am still guided by my statement made at paragraph 12 of the order on detention dated January 21, 2004, in this same case:
¶ 90 It would be a mistake to compare or to try to identify the Canadian immigration legislation with legislation in other countries which deprive individuals of rights seen as fundamental in Canada, such as the right to counsel, the right to be heard, the right to be brought before the court or the right to have one's detention reviewed by an independent court. In fact, the Federal Court of Appeal found that the sections of the IRPA dealing with the security certificate process were constitutional (Re Charkaoui, 2004 FCA 421, [2004] F.C.J. No. 2060):
¶ 91 Section 40.1 of the former Immigration Act R.S.C. 1985, c.I-2, was also found to be constitutional (Ahani v. Canada, [1996] F.C.J. No. 937, 201 N.R. 233 (C.A.)):
¶ 92 I apologize in advance for some of the repetition which I will now undertake, but feel that the context justifies the task of ensuring that the process was made while respecting all safeguards afforded to Mr. Zündel under the law. ¶ 93 Mr. Zündel has not been deprived of any of his fundamental rights. Mr. Zündel, a landed immigrant in Canada who still has his German citizenship, left Canada in 2000 claiming that he was somehow abandoning or leaving the country forever in hopes of obtaining American citizenship. ¶ 94 For reasons that are not completely clear to this Court, there were some problems with the U.S. authorities in the process of obtaining his citizenship and Mr. Zündel was deported to the Canadian border on February 18, 2003. ¶ 95 He was detained at the border as soon as he entered Canadian territory and has since had full access to counsel as well as regular detention reviews pursuant to the process established by the Canadian immigration legislation. ¶ 96 Two months after his return to Canada, the Minister of Immigration and the Solicitor General of Canada signed a certificate establishing that Mr. Zündel is inadmissible to Canada on grounds of security pursuant to subsection 77(1) of the Immigration Act. ¶ 97 The certificate was signed on April 30, 2003 and as a designated judge, I was assigned to the case the same day to review the detention and the certificate. ¶ 98 Unfortunately, over the next two weeks, counsel for Mr. Zündel was only available on May 9 and May 16, 2003, even though the Ministers' counsel were available to start the detention review process right away. After those hearings, counsel for Mr. Zündel remained unavailable until July 2003. ¶ 99 Nonetheless, on May 1, 2003, I promptly began a review of the Security Intelligence Report that was provided by CSIS to the Ministers, which served as the basis to issue the certificate. I also started to review the hundreds of documents that were provided in support of the Security Intelligence Report. On May 5, 2003, I provided the Summary of the evidence presented to me in camera to enable Mr. Zündel to be reasonably informed of the circumstances giving rise to the certificate. The evidence provided by the Ministers which would be injurious to national security or to the safety of any person if disclosed, was kept confidential, in accordance with paragraph 78(h) of the IRPA. It was an important decision because this is where and how the immigration legislation departs from the usual method of full disclosure to the parties. At the very beginning of the hearing, it was also decided that the evidence provided under the detention review process would also be used for the certificate review. ¶ 100 The process under the Canadian Immigration Act has been and is respectful of Mr. Zündel's rights. His detention has been reviewed when he was detained upon his arrival to Canada, the very day after the certificate was issued and every six months after the first decision. There could be future detention reviews and Mr. Zündel was and is still capable of providing new evidence that could justify his release from detention. ¶ 101 Although there were many delays due to numerous last minute motions by Mr. Zündel, different requests for witnesses during the first eight months and a last minute withdrawal of constitutional issues from the jurisdiction of the Federal Court in order to introduce them in Ontario Superior Court, the review decision was still rendered on January 21, 2004. A new detention review was supposed to take place in July 2004, but at the request of Mr. Zündel, it was postponed until later that year to allow Mr. Zündel to provide a new witness. This new witness was Mr. Christie, who represented Mr. Zündel at the time, but was removed as solicitor of record very shortly before testifying in this case. A detention review decision was rendered on September 24, 2004. ¶ 102 Mr. Zündel was entitled to provide any witnesses or documents that he wanted. Mr. Burdi was provided to testify that he was indeed thrown out of Mr. Zündel's house because his behaviour and the language of his songs were seen as being disgusting by Mr. Zündel. Dr. Lorraine Day testified on Mr. Zündel's health during his detention and Bruce Leichty, an American lawyer, testified on the status of Mr. Zündel's immigration file in the United States. Furthermore, Karen Kruger and Gerhardt Haas were called on the first day of hearings, solely to present themselves as possible sureties. ¶ 103 Mr. Zündel also called Dave Stewart who testified for a period of eight days and was examined on the documents that were filed by CSIS and also by Mr. Zündel. Mr. Stewart identified himself as being one of the few people that gathered all the information that was provided to the Ministers when they made their decision on the certificate. Mr. Stewart mentioned that there was a vast quantity of documents gathered over a 25 year span regarding Mr. Zündel and that CSIS provided documents they believed were relevant to the certificate. Although there were many interruptions and many objections during the testimony, Mr. Zündel was allowed to ask questions regarding the unclassified information provided by CSIS. ¶ 104 Mr. Zündel also testified at length before me, and I had the opportunity and the privilege of examining first-hand his reactions and responses to the questions that were posed to him. Over the last two decades, Mr. Zündel has gained extensive experience in asking and answering questions. He qualifies himself as a "media man", having conducted hundreds of interviews around the world; he is quite comfortable in an interrogative setting. ¶ 105 Even though Mr. Zündel seemed forthcoming in answering the questions put to him, he nevertheless deliberately decided not to clarify his relationship with the individuals and organizations mentioned and described in the Summary. The questions were clear, but the answers were shrouded in ambiguity. ¶ 106 Based on what I saw, what I heard, and what was presented to me during the hearings, I have no hesitation in concluding that his testimony lacked credibility on several crucial elements of the case. ¶ 107 I have already mentioned that some of the evidence was kept confidential, because its disclosure would be injurious to national security. This notion encompasses a multitude of elements and sources. Among them, there could be different human and documentary sources arising outside the country, as well as similar sources of a local nature. As previously mentioned, it is the designated judge who is responsible for the decision to keep information classified if its disclosure would be injurious to national security. ¶ 108 This is where national security transcends the individual rights of a person who is the subject of a security certificate and who is therefore deemed to be a threat to the security of Canada. In Re Charkaoui, supra, the Federal Court of Appeal held:
¶ 109 The decision is made by the judge and not by the Ministers. If the judge arrives at the conclusion that part of the evidence should be disclosed and the Ministers still believe that its disclosure would be injurious to national security, the Ministers may withdraw the evidence that is proposed. Sometimes, this is a difficult task because the disclosure of one part of the evidence could divulge information that would make possible the identification of the sources which not only would be injurious to national security but also to the security of persons. This problem is described as the "mosaic effect" and it is referred to numerous times by this and other courts (Cemerlic v. Canada (Solicitor General), [2003] F.C.J. No. 191, 2003 FCT 133; Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Singh, [1998] F.C.J. No. 978; Henrie v. Canada (Security Intelligence Review Committee), [1989] 2 F.C. 229, aff'd [1992] F.C.J. No. 100 (C.A.); Re Jaballah, [2003] 4 F.C. 345, [2003] F.C.S. No. 822, 2003 FCT 640; Ruby v. Canada (Solicitor General), [2002] 4 S.C.R. 3, 2002 SCC 75).
¶ 110 This risk must be weighed by the designated judge who has a duty to make sure that the disclosure of any information and of any other evidence would not be injurious to national security or the security of any person pursuant to section 77 of the IRPA. CONCLUSION ON THE REASONABLENESS OF THE CERTIFICATE ¶ 111 Faced with the evidence that was provided by the Ministers, I have no hesitation in concluding that pursuant to section 33 and to paragraph 34(1)(d) of the IRPA, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Zündel is inadmissible on security grounds for being a danger to the security of Canada. ¶ 112 Mr. Zündel has associated, supported and directed members of the Movement who in one fashion or another have sought to propagate violent messages of hate and have advocated the destruction of governments and multicultural societies. Mr. Zündel's activities are not only a threat to Canada's national security but also a threat to the international community of nations. Mr. Zündel can channel the energy of members of the White Supremacist Movement from around the world, providing funding to them, bringing them together and providing them advice and direction. ¶ 113 It would be illusory to believe that the White Supremacist Movement is receding. While it is true that the detention of Mr. Zündel may have taken the wind out of the sails of his followers, the White Supremacist network is still very much alive and active. The use of the Internet has created new methods of communication which have replaced traditional ones. No longer must halls or pubs be rented in order to have meetings; rather, communication can now take place easily and anonymously between adherents of the White Supremacist Movement, as well as anyone else curious enough to visit websites or log onto chat rooms dedicated to keeping this network alive. ¶ 114 Although not all of the 1.2 million monthly visitors, as mentioned by Mr. Zündel, to the Zundelsite are members of the White Supremacist Movement, that volume, on only one website, is an indication of the potential influence this means of communication holds. Many of those actively involved in maintaining this network, individuals such as Mr. Klatt, Mr. Rami, Mr. Lemire, Mr. McAleer and particularly his spouse, Mrs. Rimland, are close associates of Mr. Zündel. ¶ 115 The physical presence of Mr. Zündel is not necessary to maintain the sustenance of this network. Nonetheless, Mr. Zündel's freedom following two years of incarceration, would no doubt galvanize the White Supremacist Movement. Mr. Zündel has the funding, the support, an established infrastructure, a means of communication to the masses via his Zundelsite as well as numerous individuals who are prepared to do his bidding. Mr. Zündel is capable of bringing all this back together and once again spurring the White Supremacist Movement. ¶ 116 In this case, I have no doubt regarding the fairness and legality of the process and I have no doubt that the evidence in support of the certificate conclusively established that Mr. Zündel represents a danger for the security of Canada and that the certificate signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Solicitor General of Canada is reasonable. REVIEW OF THE PRE-REMOVAL RISK ASSESSMENT DECISION ¶ 117 In addition to the review of the security certificate which I am required to do, the IRPA has built in a safeguard for those who make an application for protection pursuant to subsection 112(1) of the Act. In such cases, subsection 80(1) provides for an automatic review of the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) decision, in order to determine whether such decision was lawfully made.
113 Examen de la demande
¶ 118 Mr. Zündel submitted his application for protection on May 8, 2003. Mr. Zündel's application was reviewed, including the more than 25 pieces of evidence submitted, as well as outside sources of information. A preliminary assessment was delivered to Mr. Zündel on July 8, 2003, to allow him to present further documents or submissions, which were received on July 30, of that same year. ¶ 119 The Act then required the Minister to firstly determine if upon his deportation to Germany, Mr. Zündel would face a personalized risk of torture, or a risk to his life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, as per subsection 97(1) of IRPA. If it was determined that there did exist a risk of any of the above, then that risk needed to be weighed against the risk the applicant posed to the security of Canada. ¶ 120 After carefully reading the submissions of Mr. Zündel, as well as all the relevant documents submitted in this assessment, the Minister was of the opinion that there were insufficient elements present in the case which would indicate that Mr. Zündel would be subjected to torture or risk of life or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if he were to be returned to Germany. ¶ 121 In essence therefore, I have a judicial review before me of the decision of the Minister dated October 28, 2003. The standard of review to be applied to such a decision was canvassed in the Supreme Court decision of Suresh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2002] 1 S.C.R. 3 at paragraphs 39 and following:
¶ 122 I would add to that, the comments made by my colleague Justice Lemieux in La v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2003] F.C.J. No. 649, in regard to the weight accorded to the evidence relied upon by the Minister:
¶ 123 This imposes a high threshold and accords much deference to the PRRA decision. In light of this standard, counsel for Mr. Zündel submits that the Minister failed to consider uncontradicted evidence of Germany's hostility towards Mr. Zündel and failed to take into consideration the enthusiasm of Germany at the prospect of capturing Mr. Zündel as soon as Canada places him in German hands, ultimately leading to a decision that cannot be supported on the evidence. ¶ 124 Unfortunately, the extent of Mr. Zündel's arguments fall well short of establishing patent unreasonableness of the Minister's decision. Mr. Zündel describes in very broad terms that there was ample evidence before the Minister supporting his view, and that no consideration was given to these documents, but provides no detailed submissions to support his claims. ¶ 125 Mr. Zündel asserts that the Minister made repeated references to a single document, the U.S. Department of State publication entitled "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Germany", while virtually ignoring all others. Mr. Zündel claims that this document provided ample evidence to support his view of torture and of a risk of cruel and unusual punishment. ¶ 126 It is not my place to review and reweigh the factors used to make the decision; however, I must ensure that there was no failure to consider appropriate factors, and no reliance on irrelevant considerations. That being said, after a lengthy and thorough review of the evidence presented, I cannot find any grounds for concluding that the decision is patently unreasonable. ¶ 127 Nowhere in the evidentiary documents placed before the Minister did I find anything which would allow me to conclude, as Mr. Zündel put it, that "the assessment he arrives at could only be the result of a poor job performance, laziness or, what is far more likely, a politically-correct report about a well-known, albeit, media-demonized, therefore unpopular dissident". ¶ 128 Among the documents submitted by Mr. Zündel, I have found fan mail supporting him in his views, a letter condemning modern day Germany (written by Mr. Zündel himself), letters from Canadian war veterans supporting Mr. Zündel, a copy of a German arrest warrant for Mr. Zündel dated February 17, 2003, an affidavit by his wife, Ingrid Rimland, numerous character references from friends of Mr. Zündel, as well as many newspaper articles relaying the current state of Mr. Zündel's hearings in Canada and the United States. It is interesting to note that these articles in no way support Mr. Zündel's claim for protection, but are used by him to add a few personal comments such as:
¶ 129 The only remark made by Mr. Zündel's counsel in reference to a credible document which can be relied on as a source of unbiased information, is the unfounded and unbacked assertion that the U.S. Department of State document cited numerous times by the Minister, contained the following concerns about Germany, none of which were mentioned in the PRRA decision:
¶ 130 An attentive reading of the Minister's decision, reveals that the above concerns were dealt with specifically, near the bottom of page 6 of the reasons for decision:
¶ 131 The above reasons make it quite clear that not only did the Minister take Mr. Zündel's concerns into consideration, but also gave reasons for which they were not given more weight. CONCLUSION ON THE PRE-REMOVAL RISK ASSESSMENT DECISION ¶ 132 All matters considered, I find that the Minister acknowledged and properly applied the test of determining whether, based on the factors set out in subsection 97(1) of the Act, Mr. Zündel was a person in need of protection. I am satisfied that all of the relevant evidence was examined thoroughly, and that all proper procedure was followed in allowing Mr. Zündel to make submissions after the preliminary decision was made and delivered to Mr. Zündel on July 8, 2003. I therefore find that the PRRA decision is lawfully made. On the basis of the information and evidence available to me, I have determined that the certificate signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Solicitor General of Canada on May 1, 2003, is reasonable and that the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment decision dated October 28, 2003, is lawfully made. BLAIS J. |
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