The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association has launched another postcard campaign, calling for the deportation of former KGB member Mikhail Lennikov.
"It's a wake-up notice," said Lubomyr Luciuk, the association's director of research. "(It's) to remind the government of Canada we have an illegal alien in the country who's still here."
Lennikov, a former Burnaby resident, moved into sanctuary at Vancouver's First Lutheran Church on June 2, 2009, the day before he was supposed to be deported. The Canadian government wants to send him back to Russia because he worked for the KGB for five years in the '80s.
"He's only here because the Canada Border Services Agency aren't doing their jobs," Luciuk said.
The postcards, addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, read: "Why is a KGB man allowed to remain in Canada? He is not a refugee. He had no right to enter Canada. - Send Mikhail home, now!" Luciuk said the association ordered thousands of the postcards and is distributing them to its membership.
The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association launched a similar postcard campaign in 2010, and last October, the group hired a private investigator to keep an eye on Lennikov.
"We hired a private investigator to make sure Mr. Lennikov won't leave the church," Luciuk said. "I hope he finds Jesus."
Lennikov first came to Canada in 1997 on a student visa. Canadian immigra-tion law states members of an organization that spied on a democratic government are not allowed to stay in the country unless the public safety minister deems they are not detrimental to national security. While Lennikov and his supporters say he is not a security threat and should be allowed to stay, the government has not budged on its position that he's inadmissible. Lennikov has exhausted all legal appeals and is still facing deportation.
Last Christmas, Lennikov was reportedly still at the church, but calls from the NOW were not returned by press time.
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