The troubling case of Joe Somebody
As stated by the federal War Crimes Program, there is little doubt about where this country stands: “ Canada will not be a safe haven for persons involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity or other reprehensible acts,” according to the program’s annual report for 2003- 2004. But consider the case of Josip Marko Budimcic, the 42- year- old handyman known on Saltspring Island by the name of his business, Joe Somebody.
Budimcic arrived in Canada with his wife and two children in January 1995. He settled first in Weyburn, Sask., taking a job as a janitor with the local school board. When he lost that job, he worked in a welding shop until a nasty bit of media coverage prompted him to leave Saskatchewan. Two years ago, he arrived on Saltspring. He worked briefly as an engineering room assistant on the Queen of Nanaimo ferry, but lost the job after a couple of months. Citing privacy issues, B. C. Ferries isn’t saying why he was fired. He is highly regarded by Saltspring residents who have dealt with him, and they say they are shocked at the allegasentenced tions against him that have once again come to the surface, just as they did in Saskatchewan four years ago.
Authorities in Croatia say that Budimcic was in an irregular police force, associated with a Serbian paramilitary group in 1991, and that he tortured prisoners of war and was involved in the disappearance of an unspecified number of prisoners.
Budimcic was found guilty of these crimes against humanity in 1996, and to 15 years in prison. He was tried in absentia because, by that time, he was already in Canada, trying his best to create a new life for himself and his family.
For his part, Budimcic will only say that he served as a policeman in Croatia from 1984 through 1991.
In February 2001, Croatia asked Canada to send Budimcic back. He’s still here, and still able to make house calls on Saltspring.
What’s happening with the file on Budimcic? We don’t know, because Citizenship and Immigration officials can’t tell us. Like everyone else in Canada, Budimcic has rights under our privacy legislation. But the longer he remains in Canada, one of the most visible convicted war criminals in our midst, the longer it sends a message to the war criminals of the world that this country could offer them a safe haven — despite the high ideals set out by our War Crimes Program. This is an edited version of an editorial that appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist.