Ottawa [Canada], November 14 (ANI): Canada’s government and private sector are being targeted by foreign adversaries, particularly Russia and China, which have shown “significant interest” in the country’s Arctic region, the head of Canada’s intelligence service has said, according to local media reports.
Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), told CBC’s Power & Politics on Thursday that authorities “definitely have to be attentive to the possibility of information operations or interference.”
Rogers said China and Russia continue to pursue sensitive government and private-sector intelligence and high-tech goods, while seeking a strategic foothold in the Arctic, according to the Globe and Mail. He added that Chinese intelligence operatives have attempted to recruit Canadians with access to classified information or military expertise.
He noted that China is seeking an economic presence in the region, while Russia’s Arctic posture “remains unpredictable and aggressive.” China also continues to target Canada’s sensitive information. “Chinese spies have tried to recruit Canadians with access to government plans, intentions, information, and military expertise, through social media and online job platforms,” Rogers told CBC.
He further alleged that Moscow is using illicit procurement schemes to acquire Canadian technology for Russia’s war against Ukraine. CSIS has warned several Canadian companies that Europe-based front companies attempting to purchase their goods were actually connected to Russian agents. “Once in Russia, these Canadian products are then used to support Russian military efforts in Ukraine and elsewhere,” Rogers said.
Responding to questions about potential sovereignty referendums in Alberta and Quebec, which foreign adversaries could view as an opportunity to interfere in a G7 nation, Rogers said CSIS does not take a role in “Canadians exercising their opinion,” but acknowledged that information manipulation poses a vulnerability.
He also referenced the bombing of Air India Flight 182, which killed 329 people, as an example of the devastating consequences of violent extremism. “Worryingly, nearly one in ten terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject under the age of 18,” he noted.
Rogers said the global Arctic has become an arena of growing interest due to its strategic and economic potential. “Non-Arctic states, including the People’s Republic of China, seek to gain a strategic and economic foothold in the region. Russia, an Arctic state with a significant military presence, remains unpredictable and aggressive,” he said. Both nations, he added, have a “significant intelligence interest” in the Arctic and in those who shape its development.
He said CSIS has observed both cyber and non-cyber intelligence collection targeting governments and private-sector entities in the region.
Rogers also revealed that the agency has disrupted potentially lethal threats by Iran targeting individuals Tehran views as enemies. “In particularly alarming cases over the last year, we’ve had to reprioritize our operations to counter the actions of Iranian intelligence services and their proxies,” he said. In more than one instance, this involved detecting, investigating, and stopping threats against individuals in Canada.
Rogers added that Canada’s role as an advanced economy with vast natural resources and its influential positions in organizations such as NATO, the G7, and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance make it a prime target for foreign intelligence services. (ANI)
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