By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Ontario
Canadian officials deported five individuals to the U.S. between 2004 and 2014 for engaging in espionage, according to a story published Tuesday by the Toronto Star.
The paper based its report on a document released under the Canadian Access to Information Act that was authored by the Canada Border Services Agency.
The report said a total of 21 spies were deported during the period but did not make clear if those expelled were engaged in attempts to obstain state secrets or industrial espionage to steal private corporate business documents.
Likewise, it does not list the nationality of the spies but they were generally deported to their country of origin. The spies were either permanent Canadian residents or foreigners who were not allowed in the country because of security concerns.
The Toronto Star, along with La Presse in Quebec, attempted to obtain more information from the border service and former and current U.S. and Canadian political and state officials, but “none shed any light on the specifics of any case,” the Star reported.
It may come as a surprise to some that Americans were accused of having five spies in Canada because the two countries have such close ties. The two countries share the longest undefended border in the world, are each others largest trading partners and Canadians and Americans routinely cross the border for work, visits and extended holidays.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) have said most efforts to curtail spying were directed toward Chinese operatives, the Star reported in 2007.
That sentiment continued but there were only two suspected Chinese spies uncovered during the 10-year period of the border service report.
India and Sweden each had two spies deported while Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Malawi, Mongolia, Russia, Tunisia, Uganda and Venezuela each had one.
Spying has been an area of concern for Canada, current CSIS director Michel Coulombe told a Senate committee last month.
“We have long been concerned with espionage,” he said, as reported by the Star. “Our industrial capabilities, rich natural resources and access to key allies make Canada an attractive target for hostile actors.
“What is new, however, is the sheer breadth of today’s targets and the use of cyber attacks, which are efficient, cost-effective and most importantly, deniable, providing anonymity for their perpetrators.”
That “access to key allies” has manifested itself several times over the years, with perhaps the most famous case in the late 1980s.
At that time, Canada evicted eight Soviet officials and barred nine others from the country for allegedly trying to obtain classified American naval technology.
www.aa.com.tr/en
