Mikhail Lennikov wins broadening party support 

OTTAWA– Support for Mikhail Lennikov continues to grow. An additional 13 Members of Parliament signed a multiparty letter to the Minister of Public Safety Peter Van Loan and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney, urging them to rescind the deportation order of Mikhail Lennikov to Russia. This brings the total number of MPs backing the campaign to allow Mikhail Lennikov to stay in Canada to 35.

“There is a growing consensus that the government is being heavy handed in Mr. Lennikov’s case,” said his MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster). “I hope that the community and political support will help these Ministers see that Mr. Lennikov poses no threat and should be allowed to stay with his family.

While Irina Lennikova and Dmitri Lennikov’s application of permanent residency has been approved, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has refused to waive the deportation order for Mr. Lennikov, forcing him to seek sanctuary in his church on June 2nd .

New Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, and Bloc Quebecois MPs asked the Ministers to use their discretionary powers and end the deportation order on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. Mr. Lennikov is being denied permanent residence status because of a brief time with the KGB in the 1980’s, an employment that he has fully explained as reluctant and of a primarily administrative character.

“Why separate this family forever? Mikhail Lennikov has never been accused of any crime during his 11 years of residence in Canada and the Minister has not been able to substantiate his deportation order,” said Julian. “The Minister of Immigration’s own internal documents confirm that Mr Lennikov has never been trained as a spy.”

This prompted Peter Julian to request under section 8. (2) of the privacy Act all records and information on Mr. Lennikov under the custody of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA). On June 18, Mikhail Lennikov signed the waivers authorizing his MP to request the information.

“I have no doubt that the content of these files will allow the public to see even more clearly why the deportation of Mr. Lennikov cannot be justified,” said Julian. “Dmitri, Irina and Mikhail have demonstrated that there are law abiding, peaceful and productive members of the community. They should be allowed to stay together in their country, Canada.”

The following MPs have signed the appeal:

Niki Ashton, MP (Churchill)
Malcolm Allen, MP (Welland)
Alex Atamanenko, MP (BC-Southern Interior)
Dona Cadman, MP (Surrey-North)
Olivia Chow, MP (Trinity-Spadina)
Joe Comartin, MP (Windsor—Tecumseh)
Jean Crowder, MP (Nanaimo-Cowichan)
Nathan Cullen, MP (Skeena-Bulkley Valley)
Don Davies, MP (Vancouver Kingsway)
Libby Davies, MP (Vancouver East)
Nicole Demers, MP (Laval)
Paul Dewar, MP (Ottawa Centre)
Sukh Dhaliwal, MP (Newton-North Delta)
Ujjal Dosanjh, MP (Vancouver South)
Linda Duncan, MP (Edmonton Strathcona)
Meili Faille, MP (Vaudreuil-Soulanges)
Hedy Fry, MP (Vancouver-Centre)
Yvon Godin, MP (Acadie-Bathurst)
Claude Guimond, MP (Montmorency—Charlevoix-—Haute-Côte-Nord)
Jack Harris, MP (St. John’s-East)
Bruce Hyer, MP (Thunder Bay—Superior-Nord)
Peter Julian, MP (Burnaby-New Westminster)
Francine Lalonde, MP (La Pointe-de-l'Île)
Megan Leslie, MP (Halifax)
Jim Malloway, MP (Elmwood—Transcona)
Tony Martin, MP (Sault St. Marie)
Brian Masse, MP (Windsor-Ouest)
Irene Mathyssen, MP (London-Fanshawe)
Joyce Murray, MP (Vancouver Quadra)
John Rafferty, MP (Thunder Bay-Rainy River)
Pablo Rodriguez, MP (Honoré-Mercier)
Jean-Yves Roy, MP (Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis-—Matane—Matapédia)
Denise Savoie, MP (Victoria)
Bill Siksay, MP (Burnaby-Douglas)
Peter Stoffer, MP (Sackville-Eastern Shore)
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP (Winnipeg North)