Jason Kenney talks to the Post about his most-wanted list.
Back in 2003, the Liberals considered releasing a similar wanted list but decided not to. They said they were concerned about privacy and vigilantism. Why did your government go ahead with this now?
“I read about that. If indeed they took that position I think it was bizarre and irresponsible. The notion that a foreigner who illegally enters Canada, has been found by our legal system to be involved in the worst kinds of crimes possible, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, who is under a deportation order and a warrant — the notion that such an individual enjoys the same privacy rights as a law abiding Canadian citizen is bizarre in the extreme. And the fact that people are concerned about this just shows the kind of ideological process obsession that some people have that overrides any consideration for the public interest or the integrity of our immigration system. So when this came to light, that we were not seeking the cooperation of the public, Minister Toews and I realized that this was a mistaken approach and that we had no privacy obligation to these individuals under the principles of both consistent use of information and public interest. And under the Privacy Act, we felt there were entirely reasonable grounds to release this information.”
Chris Selley notes that the word “alleged” should be applied to these individuals. One person is threatening to sue. Another is claiming innocence.