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Will Canada grant Lennikov the Christmas gift of Freedom?

by Jessica Tucker | December 21, 2009 at 08:31 am

191 views | 32 Recommendations | 5 comments

Two B.C. members of Parliament invoked the spirit of Christmas Sunday as they called for the government to back down and allow former KGB agent Mikhail Lennikov to stay in Canada.

Mikhail Lennikov is a name that has become well known in British Columbia and Canada recently. Unfortunately, his fame has come from the announcement of deportation which sent him to the confines and safety of a Vancouver church.

A KGB agent over 20 years ago, Lennikov admitted to Canada upon his initial arrival of doing clerical work and translations for the Russian agency. Immigration Canada gave the man a student Visa in 1997 and allowed him to live here with his family ever since. No one had a problem with an admitted KGB agent then. After September, 2001, Immigrations laws were reevaluated in Canada and Lennikov’s future in this country became questionable.

This man was given a fresh start in this country by a governmental body of humans whose ancestors most likely also came to this country as immigrants, for one reason or another. To later take it all back and say “…you’re family can stay. However, seeing as you were a Russian spy over 20 years ago and you have been behaving yourself in Canada ever since, you can’t. Go back to Russia, and a fate unknown!” That just is not fair! I wonder how many US spies, or Japanese, Chinese, Romanian or maybe German spies, for that matter, are living in Canada. I bet they didn’t admit to their prior ‘work experience’ on their immigration applications though.

Considering the basis for the founding of our great country, would you not think that these Government offices run by people who were most likely born to a family who most likely did not originate from Canada, who immigrated here, they should give Lennikov a break. It’s not like the guy is walking into a grocery store and shooting up the place. Unless this seemingly peaceful and calm man gives Canada reason to revoke his stay in the country or it is eminently foreseen he may cause harm to Canada and/or its people, let the man go home for dinner with his family.

Wasn’t it Canada that put those plane hijackers that terrorized that dreary morning of September 11 through their flight school and training? Canada needs to stop dwelling on the past and look forward to the future and the face the real problems that threaten Canada, its people and the generations to come. Let Mikhail Lennikov go home to his life and celebrate Christmas with his family.