# Foreign spy agencies active in Canada: CSIS



## 57Chevy (13 Jun 2011)

Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act


Foreign spy agencies active in Canada: CSIS
Althia Raj, Postmedia News/June 13
http://www2.canada.com/story.html?id=4939379

OTTAWA - Canada is a hotbed of activity for foreign intelligence agencies, the head of Canada's spy service said Monday.

"State-sponsored espionage against Canada is being conducted at levels equal to, or greater than, those witnessed during the Cold War," Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Richard Fadden warned in the CSIS annual report tabled in Parliament Monday.

"CSIS is aware that certain foreign agencies are conducting intelligence operations within Canada," Fadden wrote.

A number of foreign governments are covertly gathering political, economic and military information in this country, according to the report.

Canada's participation in NATO and its strategic relationship with the United States make it an "attractive target" for foreign espionage. And "several countries" are also engaged in economic espionage against Canada, attracted by the country's advanced communications, telecommunications, biotechnology, aerospace and mining sectors, the report notes.

Foreign governments are using their diplomatic missions, infiltrating organizations and recruiting informants to steal jobs, assets, leading-edge technologies and confidential government reports as well as to coerce and manipulate ethnic communities, the CSIS report states.

"Foreign interference is also of concern," Fadden explained, noting that Canada has "traditionally been vulnerable" to foreign powers which monitor persons and groups deemed a concern to their own domestic security and political agendas, and try to influence Canadian public policy to their own benefit.

These activities - such as the intimidation of various communities - are designed to perpetuate domestic conflicts and grievances in diaspora communities and "will continue to pose national security challenges to this country," the report concludes.

Fadden's comments repeat some of the assertions he made a year ago in a CBC interview that caused an uproar among many ethnic groups, especially Chinese Canadians, and led to calls from opposition politicians for him to be fired.

The CSIS report notes, however, that the main threat to Canada continues to be terrorism, primarily Islamist violence.

"Canada is a tangible target for Islamist extremist-inspired violence," Fadden wrote.

al-Qaida "remains the most lethal terrorist movement in the world," according to the CSIS report, which identified domestic radicalization as key threat. CSIS officers are concerned about terrorist plots being planned by individuals or groups "we do not know about," Fadden noted.

Somalia, where some young Somali-Canadians are believed to have attended terrorist training camps, is also likely to attract more terrorist groups because of the "near-hopeless" situation in the Horn of Africa.

"Western citizens are particularly prized . . . for their easy access to potential targets in Europe and North America," the report states.

The CSIS report said the agency also fears that the incarceration of Islamist terrorists could give extremists an opening to promote their mission in prisons in Canada as they have in the United Kingdom, France and the U.S.

Domestically, "eco-extremists," "Aboriginal extremists" and other issue-motivated groups also threaten Canada's security, said the report.

CSIS notes that the Internet is central to the planning of terrorist activities although the cyber-related capacities of various extremists groups are limited at present.

Still, the service said it needs to keep tabs on how new technology is being used.

The report also notes that cyber espionage is now the "fastest growing form of espionage" and cyberattacks are one of the most complicated issues facing the public and private sectors in Canada.

"Attacks . . . have grown substantially and are becoming more complex and difficult to detect," the report states.

CSIS also mentioned it continued to investigate attempts by "certain foreign governments and groups" to procure the technology, materials and expertise for weapons of mass destruction within and through Canada last year.


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## The Bread Guy (13 Jun 2011)

Here's the original source material from the CSIS web page if you want to read the whole story - smaller PDF of report text attached if link doesn't work.


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## dapaterson (9 Sep 2011)

And, bumping an old thread, it appears that being a married parliamentary secretary doesn't mean you're smart.  With a portfolio in the appropriately named Foreign Affairs, it appears a member of Parliament is sneding flirtatious emails to a CHinese journalist, since we all know that no spy agency would ever, ever use journalists as a cover.

Bob Dechert, come on down!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/09/09/pol-tory-mp-china-journalist.html


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## The Bread Guy (6 Oct 2011)

dapaterson said:
			
		

> And, bumping an old thread, it appears that being a married parliamentary secretary doesn't mean you're smart.  With a portfolio in the appropriately named Foreign Affairs, it appears a member of Parliament is sneding flirtatious emails to a CHinese journalist, since we all know that no spy agency would ever, ever use journalists as a cover.
> 
> Bob Dechert, come on down!
> 
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/09/09/pol-tory-mp-china-journalist.html



A further bump - the latest from the MP in question:  Move along, nothing to see here.....


> Conservative MP Bob Dechert is keen to move on.
> 
> Literally.
> 
> ...


_Toronto Star_, 4 Oct 11

The statement?


> Bob Dechert, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erindale issued the following statement:
> 
> “The person is a journalist whom I have come to know as a friend. I met her while doing Chinese-language media communications.
> 
> ...


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## daftandbarmy (6 Oct 2011)

I'm shocked. Aren't China the nice guys now, and we're bosom buddies? :-*

oops... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-tRKdMx8g


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## Edward Campbell (6 Oct 2011)

The Chinese are no one's friends.

Further, countries don't have "friends." Long standing, even traditional allies, perhaps, but no friends, just interests. That our interests coincide with those of some long standing allies is a bonus.

But, countries don't need to and ought not to go looking for enemies.


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## GAP (20 Dec 2011)

Reporter replaced after flirtatious emails with MP
Tue Dec. 20 2011  The Canadian Press
Article Link

OTTAWA — China's state-controlled news agency has replaced its controversial Toronto correspondent.

The former Xinhua news agency correspondent, a woman named Shi Rong, had a flirtatious email exchange with Conservative MP Bob Dechert that was made public this past summer.

Shi has since returned to China.

Xinhua's Ottawa bureau chief tells The Canadian Press that the agency has assigned a new chief correspondent to Toronto, and that Shi won't be returning to Canada.

No other details were available. 
end


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## Colin Parkinson (20 Dec 2011)

They likely have another 20 million fembots ready to go to replace her, I have applied yearly to the Chinese embassy for my own personal fembot, laying hints of access to cabinet docs, but to no avail.  :'(


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## GAP (20 Dec 2011)

They have to have something to work with, don't they?  ;D


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## The Bread Guy (20 Dec 2011)

Colin P said:
			
		

> They likely have another 20 million fembots ready to go to replace her, I have applied yearly to the Chinese embassy for my own personal fembot, laying hints of access to cabinet docs, but to no avail.  :'(


Mail them some ATIP'ed documents - _THAT'LL_ probably get you all _sorts_ of attention (maybe not just from them)  >


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