Christie seeks political seat
Zundel's hearing delayed as his lawyer tries to resuscitate separatist Western Canada Concept party in the upcoming provincial election.
ROBERTA STALEY STAFF REPORTER
Aprobe into whether Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel is a threat to Canadian security has been delayed again.
Mr. Zundel's Victoria lawyer Doug Christie said he was grajited an adjourmnent by the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) hearing, which was set to start May 6. The delay allows Mr. Christie to hit the hustings in a bid to become MLA for Saanich South.
The month-long SIRC hearing, originally set to begin in March, has been put over to June 11, an official confirmed fi-om Ottawa.
At the request of Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration, SIRC is reviewing a finding by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that Mr. Zundel is ineligible for Canadian citizenship because he's a threat to national security. Mr. Zundel, who has landed immigrant status, has been convicted in his native Germany for Holocaust-denial writings. The CSIS decision came after Mr. Zundel applied for Canadian citizenship in 1993.
Sol Liftman, Canadian representative for the Simon Wiesen-thal Centre in Toronto, said a month delay "would hardly constitute a scandal. If they got a delay for a year we would certainly be up in arms."
Mr. Christie, 50, said the time is ripe to revive the separatist Western Canada Concept (WCC) party which he founded in 1980 in Alberta. "For the last 12 years I've been fighting for fi-eedom of speech in criminal cases. Now that that's a completely lost cause in Canada, I see no reason to pursue it further and I feel all the more inclined to Western independence," said Mr. Christie, who wouldn't reveal WCC membership.
At least two WCC candidates will by vying for voters' support in the May 28 election, said Mr. Christie, who gained national notoriety for defending Jim Keegstra and Mr. Zundel. The other confirmed member, Donald French, is running in the riding
Doug Christie is trying to drum up electoral support tor his separatist Western Canada Concept party.
of Malahat-Juan de Fuca. Mr. Christie said the party believes B.C. should separate from the rest of the coimtry because of Ottawa's "preoccupation with Quebec, Indian land giveaways (imd) destruction of the West Coast fisheries."
In the eariy 1980s, the party enjoyed a moderate amount of support playing off bilingualism and resentment over the National Energy Program. In 1982, WCC saw Alberta MLA Gordon Kesler voted into the legislature.
As head of WCC, Mr. Christie has in the past called for an end to immigration and more lenient gun-control laws. He's said he's also opposed to spending tax dollars on multicultural policies and parochial schools. (1
War cases delayed
ROBERTA STALEY STAFF REPORTER
AVancouver lawyer is outraged that a Federal Court ofCanadajudge has withdrawn from three cases probing alleged Nazi war criminals living in Canada.
"I deplore the further delay that this will cause to the processing and completion of dealing with Nazi war criminals in Canada, a matter the Canadian Jewish Congress has been pushing since roughly 1947," said Morris Soronow, CJC chairman for the committee dealing with Nazi war criminals in Canada.
Associate Chief Justice James Jerome filed a memo in an Ottawa court May 6 advising he was withdrawing fi-om three cases involving alleged Nazi war criminals. Judge Jerome's action came after federal lawyers complained that the judge was dragging his heels.
Mr. Soronow couldn't confirm whether lawyers' complaints caused the judge to
withdraw. "I don't know why he seems to have taken himself off the case. But I can say whatever has occurred undoubtedly will further slow down a process that in Canada has been disgraceful."
Ottawa has filed deportation proceedings against five seniors including An tanas Kenstavi-cius of Hope, B.C. CJC has been urging the men be deported or prosecuted, Mr. Soronow said.
All the accused, including Ontario residents Josef Nem-sila of Oshawa, Helmut Ober-lander of Kitchener, Erichs Tobiass of Toronto and Johanne Dueck of St. Catharines, are accused of failing to reveal their alleged Second World War criminal activities to Canadian immigration officials.
Mr. Kenstavicius, 90, is alleged to have ordered the massacre of8,000 Lithuanian Jews during World War II. He immigrated to Canada shortly after the war, working for CN Rail until age 65. □
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Q.How much of my estate will I lose to taxes and probate fees upon my death?
A .Chances are a significant portion. Exactly how much depends on the current structure of your estate and where your assets currently lie. In B.C., probate fees are $100 plus .6% of the value of your estate in excess of $25,000. In addition, all of your assets are deemed to be disposed of at death so any capital gains generated and any registered assets, which must be deregistered, are all taxable. The exception would be being a rollover of these assets to a spouse or in some cases to a minor child.
The bright side is that there are various strategies which can be applied to significantly reduce these costs. Unfortunately, most people don't explore them and in some cases lose up to 50% of the value of their estate at death.
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