Canada arrests Russian spy

[Grimmlok]

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canada said Thursday it had arrested a foreign man as a threat to national security. Local media identified him as an alleged Russian spy.

The man was detained at Montreal airport Tuesday after two federal Cabinet ministers signed a national security certificate deeming him to be a danger. Ottawa rarely issues such certificates, which are used to deal with major threats.

"The government's most important duty is to ensure the security of all Canadians. A security certificate has been issued ... against a foreign national. He is now in custody in Montreal," said Melissa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

The National Post newspaper quoted the certificate as saying the man -- living in Canada under a false name -- had been "engaging in an act of espionage" and was a member of an organization devoted to spying.

The Post quoted officials as saying the case had all the hallmarks of an operation by Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said he had been using the false name Paul William Hampel.

The case now passes to Canada's federal court, which has a week to review the evidence the government used as justification for issuing the security certificate.

In 1996, Canada expelled two Russians who it said were undercover agents for the SVR. They had taken the identity of Canadians who died as infants.

CSIS has complained for years that foreign governments are mounting increasingly sophisticated spying operations in Canada, many of them in a bid to gain industrial secrets.

Earlier this year, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay protested about what he said was industrial espionage by China. Beijing angrily rejected the allegation.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ...reut/index.htm

... why the hell is anybody spying on CANADA of all places?

[SVZ]

The secret is maple syrup.

[AliceInWonderland]

I wanna be a spy! I'd be good at it i think...