[. . . .] The government's poor record of dealing with suspected war criminals living in Canada is undermining Ottawa's much-touted leadership [a joke?] on the world stage in pushing for tough treatment of war criminals, a growing number of critics say.

[. . . .] In January, Irwin Cotler, the new Minister of Justice, said one of his main priorities is to push for those suspected of committing wartime atrocities who are living in Canada to be brought to justice.

[. . . .] A total of 445 people were denied entry into Canada in the 2001-2002 fiscal year on suspicions of complicity in war crimes or crimes against humanity or because they were senior members of regimes engaged in terrorism or gross human rights violations.

That is one quarter of the applicants who were investigated.

In the first five years of the War Crimes Program, 2,011 people have been denied entry to Canada over war-crime suspicion. There were only 34 turned away in the 1997-1998 fiscal year, when the numbers were first tracked, government records show.

The government's own internal reports have warned that a failure to make use of its 3 1/2-year-old War Crimes Act is eroding its credibility.

[. . . .] "There are a number of cases in preparation which may result in prosecution at some point in the reasonably near future," a 2001 government report said.

The RCMP has investigated modern-day war-crime allegations against citizens of at least 22 nations -- including Afghanistan, Bosnia, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Philippines, Rwanda, Serbia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

[. . . .] His officers have travelled extensively to countries where atrocities have taken place, scouring for witnesses and other evidence to make a compelling case.

[. . . .] Several cases have been assembled by the RCMP and sent to the Department of Justice; so far none have been given the approval by the Attorney-General needed to lay a charge."We're still waiting for it. We're still optimistic," Supt. Dube said.

Terry Beitner, director and general counsel of the Department of Justice's War Crimes Unit, said the cases are difficult to prosecute.

"These are cases that have extremely serious allegations against individuals in Canada who have been involved in atrocities in other countries," he said. "We're talking about genocide, brutal war crimes, torture."

"It is difficult work. You have to obtain evidence overseas, it is complicated to arrange co-operation from foreign governments, the nature of the allegations are complex. We are dealing with the application of international criminal law and Canadian criminal law," Mr. Beitner said.

[. . . .] "The immigration response brings either an injustice or no justice," he said.

[. . . .] The majority of contemporary war criminals arrive as refugee claimants, the government says.

"Many in this group have been able to bypass the overseas screening process by travelling to Canada with fraudulent or improperly obtained travel documents, often posing as persons from countries whose citizens do not require a visa to visit Canada"