Officials move to deport former KBG agent in Winnipeg

A source told the newspaper a court application is underway to have the man given a one-way ticket back to Russia, despite the fact he was previously granted refugee status and has been living here without incident.

Nobody involved in the case will speak on the record, citing the fact it involves issues of national security and remains in legal limbo.

The source said the man is in his late 60s, although other specific details about his background and how he’s spent his years in Canada are being withheld.

The source said there are no allegations he is actively involved in any spying or is a current threat.

However, his past membership alone in the notorious Soviet police agency is being cited as grounds for removal under section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The source said federal officials have been aware of the man and his past for many years.

“The file sat for ages,” said the source, who wasn’t sure if the current political and military escalation involving Russia and the Ukraine had anything to do with the timing.

Although this is a rare type of case, the government will be relying on one recent high-profile precedent as part of their bid.

Former KGB officer Mikhail Lennikov was ordered to be deported in 2009 after he was found living in Burnaby, B.C.

Like the Winnipeg case, Lennikov was not accused of any illegal activity but simply denied residency based on his notorious past as a captain in the KGB. However, his wife and teenage son do have Canadian residency.

Lennikov, 53, remains in the country, having spent more than four years living inside a Vancouver-area church where he sought religious refuge.

(Winnipeg Free Press)