Spying veiled in secrecy

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(DALE CUMMINGS)

Foreign spies have always found something worth stealing or buying in Canada, but the arrest of a Canadian naval officer for espionage is somewhat rare. At least, it's hard to recall a similar incident involving someone in the military. In fact, very few Canadians have ever been arrested and prosecuted for acts of treason or espionage, although it's not clear why.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay has been assuring Canada's NATO allies they can continue to trust the country's ability to keep secrets. But Canada has nothing to apologize for following the arrest of a naval lieutenant for allegedly violating the Security of Information Act, a new law that was passed after 9-11 to protect Canada's secrets.

Both the United States and Britain have suffered enormously damaging security breaches over the years. America lost almost all of its agents in the Soviet Union during the 1980s and at least 10 were executed as a result of treachery by a CIA agent. There are dozens of similar U.S. cases, almost all of them involving trading secrets for money.

Some of the famous British traitors of the past, notably Kim Philby, were motivated by their belief in communism.

If anything, the record would seem to suggest that Canadians should be wary of the ability of their allies to keep a secret. Last year's massive dump of sensitive diplomatic cables through Wikileaks is only the most recent case in point. An American soldier has been charged.

The Cold War might be long over, but military and strategic rivalries still exist, and as long as they do, the spy war will never end. Some countries want information that opens a window on the defence of North America. Canada is also a conduit for acquiring secrets about the United States, Europe and other close allies.

There are, however, other forms of foreign perfidy in Canada that are equally serious.

The Chinese have become experts at industrial and corporate espionage, stealing trade secrets and corporate data on an enormous scale. They've been accused of trying to steal everything that's not nailed down.

According to one estimate, Canada loses up to $100 billion a year in economic and cyber espionage, mainly from China and Russia, but also from dishonest employees.

Seven years ago, then opposition leader Stephen Harper criticized the government for ignoring reports that about 1,000 Chinese spies were operating in Canada. In addition to seeking corporate secrets, the agents were reportedly in Canada to intimidate members of the Falun Gong, a dissident religious group banned in China.

If Mr. Harper is still upset, he's keeping it behind closed doors, which is the way most of these matters are handled. Mr. MacKay, for example, won't even say which country was trying to buy our naval secrets, although it's widely believed to be Russia. Canada hasn't expelled Russian diplomats since 1988, when 21 were given the boot for engaging in military and commercial espionage.

Since then, the expansion of computer technology has made many more ordinary people potential thieves and agents provocateurs. And in an age when information wants to be free, keeping secrets is not going to get any easier.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 20, 2012 A10