Three months after taking sanctuary in a Vancouver church to avoid deportation, former KGB translator Mikhail Lennikov says the saga has taken its toll on his family.
"I see my family struggling a lot," Lennikov said. "It's been very difficult for my wife."
Lennikov said he spends his days tending to plants, helping prepare for Sunday service and receiving visits from his wife Irina and son Dmitri.
Since Lennikov has been unable to work for the three months, donations have helped his family survive.
"We are very grateful that still we are in Canada," Lennikov said. "We have received overwhelming support."
Lennikov has lived in First Lutheran Church on Wales Street since June 2, when he did not report to the Vancouver International Airport for his deportation to Russia. He worked as a translator for the KGB in the 1980s, before coming to Vancouver in 1997. The Canadian government deemed him inadmissible, but public safety minister Peter Van Loan can overturn the decision under law.
In June, NDP MP Peter Julian filed an Access to Information request with the RCMP, CSIS and the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) to reveal the documents they have on Lennikov.
Julian charged CSIS and the CBSA have not complied with the request within the timeline and the RCMP only provided heavily censored documents. He will now make a complaint to the privacy commissioner.
"I suspect [the government] has nothing," he said.
Lennikov says if he returns to Russia, he could face criminal charges, including treason, for co-operating with Canadian authorities.
