'Russian' accused of espionage Suspect carried fake documents
The Canadian government has detained a suspected Russian spy by using the controversial security certificate legislation now under review by the Supreme Court.
The move has surprised those who believed the days of Cold War espionage were long gone.
The unidentified man was arrested at Pierre Trudeau International Airport in Montreal Tuesday night and is accused of using a false identity and "engaging in the act of espionage." He is listed on the security certificate as Paul William Hampel, the bogus name he was allegedly using on his Canadian travel documents.
Agents with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are reportedly trying to ascertain his identity, as a federal court judge reviews the evidence presented by the spy service. His first court appearance will be Wednesday in Montreal.
While government sources confirmed the man is accused of spying for Russia, a spokesperson for Russia's embassy in Ottawa dismissed the suggestion yesterday as "ridiculous."
"I don't see any connection," said Alexey Lisemkov, the embassy's press secretary. "All I can see are speculations about his nationality." No Canadian government officials, including those from CSIS, have contacted the embassy since the Tuesday night arrest, Lisemkov said.In the five years since the 9/11 attacks, counter-terrorism has been the main focus for security agencies. But Canada's spy service, and lately, the Conservative government, have highlighted the problem of foreign espionage.
The latest CSIS report states that 36 organizations and 152 individuals were investigated last year for counter-intelligence, while there were 31 organizations and 274 individuals investigated for terrorism.
In Ottawa last month, CSIS head Jim Judd said foreign espionage is growing, and "becoming more sophisticated than ever through the application of new technologies."
Russia and China are the countries most often mentioned.
The last high-profile case involving accused Russian spies came a decade ago, with the arrest of Toronto couple Dmitriy Olshevsky and Yelena Olshevskaya, who were discovered using the false identities of two dead Canadian children. They were eventually deported on suspicion of spying for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, the successor to the Soviet KGB.
Unnamed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told Time magazine last year there were more than 100 known Russian spies under official cover in the U.S.
"They're busy as hell, but I don't think we've really got what it is that they're doing," said one official.
It's most often speculated that Russians are looking in the U.S. and Canada for secrets about military technology and hardware, or keeping spies abroad in the event of future wars.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been lucrative for Canada's defence sector and present an opportunity for spies to acquire military trade secrets. In 2004 and 2005 alone, the Department of National Defence awarded contracts worth a total of $12 billion to companies located in Canada, such as Lockheed Martin Canada Inc., ammunition maker SNC Technologies Inc., and General Dynamics Land Systems, which makes armoured vehicles in London.
China has also been accused by the federal government of what's known as "foreign interference" — spying on expatriate communities, which most often in the case of China, involves followers of the spiritual movement Falun Gong.
Falun Gong supporters claim this was the reason a Chinese diplomat working out of China's embassy in Ottawa did not have his visa renewed and was forced to leave Canada last month. The embassy did not return calls for comment yesterday. A foreign affairs department official confirmed the visa was denied, but would not comment on the reasons.
There were also claims by two Chinese defectors to Australia this summer that there is a Chinese spy and informant network in Canada numbering 1,000.
The security certificate against the alleged Russian spy was signed last Thursday by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg and marks the first time one has been issued since Moroccan Adil Charkaoui was detained in Montreal in 2003 as an alleged Al Qaeda sleeper agent. It's still unclear what prompted the arrest, since sources confirmed that he had already been under surveillance for months.
Security certificates are a provision of Canada's immigration act that allows the government to jail without charge and then deport non-citizens deemed a risk to Canada's security. Since 9/11, and the publicity surrounding five cases against Muslim men accused of terrorism connections, security certificates have been criticized for the secretiveness of the process, lack of appeal and possibility that detainees could be deported to countries where they'd face torture.
Both the Supreme Court and federal court are reviewing aspects of the legislation.
"I think that it is surprising that the government would think this is an appropriate step to take, given the serious constitutional problems associated with these procedures and given that those issues are currently before the Supreme Court," said Toronto lawyer John Norris, who represents three of the men currently detained on security certificates.
"There are other options (under the immigration legislation) they could use."
While security certificates are contentious, and costly, since they often take years to make their way through the courts, the government may have issued one in this case in an effort to keep information private and ensure that the suspect will not be released on bail, suggested government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Under the certificate, the suspect has no right to a detention review until a federal court justice has heard the case and ruled whether the certificate can be considered "reasonable." That process can take months.
With files from Rick Westhead and Steve Rennie
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