Archive for the ‘CSIS’ Category

Spies among us

- March 2nd, 2011

Start talking about spies and most people will think of James Bond, car chases, high-stakes poker games and martinis. Oh and lots of beautiful people.

Few people think of Canada.

“On the contrary,” said former CSIS agent Michel Juneau-Katsuya when asked if Canada is too peaceful and boring a country for spies to target. “There are lots of diplomats that have been deported or declared persona non grata.”

In addition to diplomats who continue to spy on Canada to this day, there have been sleeper agents planted in this country and even Canadians convinced to hand over secrets to foreign governments.

Last week QMI Agency released the RCMP’s secret Tommy Douglas files. The Mounties followed Douglas for decades trying to prove that he was a communist and looking for anything that might hint at espionage.

While it looks like agents did collect enough information to show that Douglas was a communist early in his career, and therefore of interest to a police force concerned with the “red scare,” no evidence released suggest Douglas ever spied on Canada for another country.

While Douglas wasn’t a spy, plenty of others have been. Here’s a selection.

via Spies among us – A Canadian history | Canada | News | Calgary Sun.

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Labour leaders break law, fund alleged terrorist

- December 10th, 2010

Abousfian Abdelrazik is a Canadian citizen from Sudan who has been placed on the UN list of people believed have ties to al-Qaida. REUTERS FILE PHOTO/Mohamed Nureldin

OTTAWA – Members of the Canadian Labour Congress broke the law Friday by giving money to an alleged terrorist on the United Nations no-fly list and challenging the federal government to arrest them.

Labour leaders representing rank-and-file union members from across the country gave $3,000 cash to Abousfian Abdelrazik and then took up a separate collection from those in attendance at a CLC meeting Friday.

Abdelrazik is a Canadian citizen from Sudan who has been placed on the UN list of people believed have ties to al-Qaida.

Read the rest here…

via Labour leaders break law, fund alleged terrorist | Canada | News | Toronto Sun.

UPDATE: That means taxpayers helped fund this money going to Abdelrazik, which even the people handing it over acknowledges breaks the law. Turns out The Canadian Labour Congress gets a lot of tax money including$9,051,025.00 from CIDA and $200,000 from Human Resources and Skills Development. Will look to see if there is more.

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Foreign influence of politicians ‘nothing new’: former top security advisor | Canada | News | Edmonton Sun

- December 8th, 2010

I’m already on the record as calling BS on the idea that CSIS boss Richard Fadden smeared the “Chinese community,” as if there is only one is Canada, when he stated that there were agents of influence in this country.

Now we have someone from higher up the national security food chain than I give her two-cents.

Foreign influence of politicians ‘nothing new’: former top security advisor

By BRYN WEESE, PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU

OTTAWA — The concern of foreign influence over Canadian politicians is nothing new, according to the former national security advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Marie-Lucie Morin, who left her post in November to represent Canada at the World Bank, was given a rough ride by opposition MPs at Parliament’s public safety committee Wednesday stemming from public comments made by the head of Canada’s spy agency in June.

–snip–

“The matter of foreign interference, of course, is not new. There is a reason why it was provided for in terms of the power of CSIS in the act in 1984,” Morin said. “So it has been a very long time since we have been aware of this vulnerability in the country

–snip–

It’s an explosive allegation, that there are politicians who are under the influence of foreign governments,” said Liberal MP Mark Holland. “There’s this huge cloud of suspicion hanging over the communities.”

New Democrat public safety critic Don Davies likened Fadden’s June comments to an accusation of treason that had affected the entire Chinese-Canadian community in particular.

“I would take exception to the concept that we are questioning the loyalty of any group of Canadians when we talk about foreign interference,” Morin shot back. “In fact, to the extent that these activities are conducted, I would argue that the communities are a victim and not in fact, and should not feel targeted.”

Do read the whole thing…

via Foreign influence of politicians ‘nothing new’: former top security advisor | Canada | News | Edmonton Sun.

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