THE NEXT FOUR days saw more witnesses for the plaintiff. First on the stand was a retired immigration officer. Mr. Conrad Draycott had been stationed as a screening officer in Karlsruhe, Germany from 1948 to 1952. During those years, Mr. Draycott screened thousands of Eastern European displaced persons who wanted to immigrate to Canada.
Mrs. Caine began the questions. "Mr. Draycott, can you tell me how you went about deciding who could come into Canada and who was to be screened out?"
Mr. Draycott had an oblong face and a surprisingly full head of steel grey hair. While his arms and legs were long and lanky, the man also sported a substantial stomach, and in order to accommodate this, the waist of his navy blue trousers settled between his chest and navel, and his tie was tucked into his leather belt.
"Canada had an urgent need for farm labour after the war," explained Mr. Draycott.
"Were there any screening procedures in place to keep certain people out?" asked Mrs. Caine.
"With the huge backlog of refugees, it was difficult, but we did the best we could. Almost certainly some undesirables were able to sneak through. One or more of the following elements would have made a prospective immigrant unsuitable: If the person was a Communist, a member of the SS, a member of the Nazi Party, a criminal, a professional gambler, a prostitute, a black market racketeer, if the person was evasive during questioning, did not have acceptable documents, used a fictitious name, was a collaborator presently residing in previously occupied territory, a member of the Mafia or of the Italian Fascist Party, a Trotskyite or member of another revolutionary organization."
Mrs. Caine walked over to where Danylo was sitting and pointed at him. "Would you have let this man into the country had you been the one screening him?" she asked.
Mr. Draycott turned to look at Danylo and knitted his brows. "Under what grounds are you thinking, Mrs. Caine?"
"As someone who committed crimes against the local population on behalf of the Nazis," she replied.
"These people were ‘collaborators' and were specifically barred from obtaining entry into Canada," he said.
"So a person who committed crimes against the local population would be barred from gaining Canadian citizenship?"
"That is correct," said Mr. Draycott.
"No more questions," said Mrs. Caine.
Mr. Vincent got to his feet.
"Mr. Draycott," he began. "Mr. Feschuk was a member of the auxiliary police force in the Ukrainian province of Volhyn from 1941 until 1943. If he told you that during his security screening, would that have barred him from entering Canada?"
"Not on those grounds. Was he a member of the SS?" asked Mr. Draycott.
"No," said Mr. Vincent.
"Did he bear the SS tattoo?"
"No," said Mr. Vincent.
"Was he a member of the Nazi Party?"
"No."
Mr. Draycott shook his head. "Simply being a local auxiliary police officer would not be considered collaboration."
"What would be considered collaboration, then?" asked Mr. Vincent.
"As I said to Mrs. Caine, if Mr. Feschuk had committed crimes against the civilian population, he would be considered a collaborator."
"How would you determine that?" asked Mr. Vincent.
"People like that were shunned by the other Displaced Persons," said Mr. Draycott. "But mostly, we would base the judgement on the personal interview."
"Thank you Mr. Draycott. I have no more questions."
The next witnesses were much the same as the first. Another immigration officer, a medical officer. Each would speak of who would and who would not have been let into Canada immediately after the war.
As Kat listened, she was troubled by the fact that month to month and year to year, there were subtle changes in who was allowed in and who wasn't. It also troubled her that Danylo's immigration papers had not been brought forward as evidence. Surely if he was being accused of misrepresenting himself, the government could settle the matter by showing the papers? But all the immigration papers from just after the war had been destroyed. One clerk testified that this wasn't malice on the part of the government, it was routine housekeeping. It left Kat to wonder at how this hearing could even be, with no surviving paperwork and no witnesses.
After the last immigration officer testified, the plaintiff rested the government's case. "To sum up," said Mrs. Caine. "We have heard testimony that Mr. Danylo Feschuk collaborated with the Nazis in Reichcommissariat Ukraine from 1941 until 1943 in his role as an auxiliary police officer. We have heard testimony about the atrocities committed by Ukrainian auxiliary police in World War II. We have also heard testimony that had Mr. Feschuk disclosed his involvement in these crimes, he would not have been given Canadian citizenship. The fact that he gained Canadian citizenship proves that he lied to security officials during screening procedures.
"Some may try to minimize Mr. Feschuk's collaboration, saying he was forced into it. However, I want you to consider this: if a man betrays the country of his birth, what stops him from betraying his country of adoption?
"Mr. Danylo Feschuk's citizenship should be stripped and he should be deported."
Kat sat there, stunned.