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Spyworld
For twenty years Canada has been spying on other nations. Outside public scrutiny or Parliamentary review and frequently acting at the behest of U.S. and U.K. intelligence agencies. Canada has been spying electronically from its embassies in capitals as far-flung as Moscow, New Delhi, Bucharest, Rabat and Caracas. It has then shared the results with its allies. There is every reason to believe Canada is still doing "embassy collection" today. Techniques developed during the "Cold War" have been honed for political and economic espionage in the nineties.
The agency responsible is the top-secret Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of whose existence most Canadians are unaware. CSE has also used sophisticated equipment, much of it provided by the U.S., to listen in on Canadian and on American citizens, raising vital questions about civil liberties and the invasion of privacy. It has intercepted communications from the Soviet embassy in Ottawa; from British cabinet ministers; from the governments of France and Quebec; from suspected Sikh terrorists in India; and from the Kremlin. Its record is if it wants to, it can intercept almost any phone, fax or radiowave transmission.
How do we know all this? Because one man, Mike Frost, a communications officer at CSE for nineteen years, has decided that in the post-"Cold War" era it is time for the Canadian public to be told what its government has been doing and for a public debate to ensue.
As he tells the story of his career, he paints a remarkable picture of the Security Establishments of Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. The Americans in particular are revealed as possessing high-tech wizardry that they use for political and economic spying - including, according to Frost, highly controversial spying on the Canadian government. Much of Canada's spying from 1972 to 1990 was undertaken for the Americans. Frost and his immediate boss were at the centre of the "embassy-collection" scheme, which was code-named "Project Pilgrim". The story of how "Pilgrim" grew by trial and error into a highly successful operation is full of drama, comedy, triumphs and frustrations.
Frost is proud of the achievements, but the questionable aspects of CSE's activities have led him to go public on both CSE's successes and its excesses. While scrupulously careful about not jeopardizing national security or endangering the lives of agents in the field, he nonetheless reveals an institution whose powers are potentially so great that they need to be subject to Parliamentary control and public scrutiny. Spyworld will undoubtedly spur debate and controversy.
The agency responsible is the top-secret Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of whose existence most Canadians are unaware. CSE has also used sophisticated equipment, much of it provided by the U.S., to listen in on Canadian and on American citizens, raising vital questions about civil liberties and the invasion of privacy. It has intercepted communications from the Soviet embassy in Ottawa; from British cabinet ministers; from the governments of France and Quebec; from suspected Sikh terrorists in India; and from the Kremlin. Its record is if it wants to, it can intercept almost any phone, fax or radiowave transmission.
How do we know all this? Because one man, Mike Frost, a communications officer at CSE for nineteen years, has decided that in the post-"Cold War" era it is time for the Canadian public to be told what its government has been doing and for a public debate to ensue.
As he tells the story of his career, he paints a remarkable picture of the Security Establishments of Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. The Americans in particular are revealed as possessing high-tech wizardry that they use for political and economic spying - including, according to Frost, highly controversial spying on the Canadian government. Much of Canada's spying from 1972 to 1990 was undertaken for the Americans. Frost and his immediate boss were at the centre of the "embassy-collection" scheme, which was code-named "Project Pilgrim". The story of how "Pilgrim" grew by trial and error into a highly successful operation is full of drama, comedy, triumphs and frustrations.
Frost is proud of the achievements, but the questionable aspects of CSE's activities have led him to go public on both CSE's successes and its excesses. While scrupulously careful about not jeopardizing national security or endangering the lives of agents in the field, he nonetheless reveals an institution whose powers are potentially so great that they need to be subject to Parliamentary control and public scrutiny. Spyworld will undoubtedly spur debate and controversy.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
280 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1994
2 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 5, 2024
It was only 3 prime ministers ago when this book pulled back the curtain on Canada’s eavesdropping agency and caused a brief national furore. Though as for espionage and intelligence gathering, 9-11 and the internet have made that era seem like the Stone Age. It feels nostalgic to read about buying equipment at Radio Shack to intercept frequencies from the Soviet embassy. Or smuggling parts into foreign countries piece by piece to build rudimentary listening devices in the consulates’ attics. Bugging pigeons to listen from roofs - today of course they do the same with drones. You almost long for your government’s old methods of covertly and illegally recording your private conversations.
I got some extra mileage out of this book from the local references. I had no idea the tower at billing’s bridge employed spies. Or that I was likely rubbing shoulders with them at the RA Center. My first summer job was at a landscaping company and we used to cut the grass at the Tilley Building, the once headquarters of their shenanigans.
A good quick read, though it hardly seems scandalous anymore. The public today are not only resigned to the fact they’re being spied on, they’re willing participants.
I got some extra mileage out of this book from the local references. I had no idea the tower at billing’s bridge employed spies. Or that I was likely rubbing shoulders with them at the RA Center. My first summer job was at a landscaping company and we used to cut the grass at the Tilley Building, the once headquarters of their shenanigans.
A good quick read, though it hardly seems scandalous anymore. The public today are not only resigned to the fact they’re being spied on, they’re willing participants.
July 1, 2020
HAPPY CANADA DAY 2020!!!
This year, as part of my Canada Day celebration, I read this book - a brief look at the history of Canadian Spy network responsible for signals intelligence.
I Love things spy related. And I LOVE Canada. So this was a marriage I knew I would enjoy.
And yet, the book sat on my shelve for 25 years, waiting to be read one day. Like today.
The Signals Intelligence is something that doesn't get a lot of attention; it is sort of hush hush when it comes to books on espionage. (Puzzle Palace tends to be the one that gets the attention about the NSA in the States). So, to have a book talking about Canada's network is very unique.
When you think about it, Canada really does have a great opportunity, during the days of the Cold War, for Signal gathering and analysis. They are a hop, skip, and a jump from the Soviet Union, over the North Pole and other locations. And Mike Frost was one of those men who found himself stationed at such a listening post. But he didnt stop there.
With the help of the United States and Great Britain, Canada was able to establish and build their own network for signal gathering during a time when the world feared the rise of the Soviet Empire. Working to set up listening posts at various embassies around the world, Mike Frost and his team would gather the incoming signals from various governments, for analysis and action.
Sometimes, the job was easy. Sometimes, it had challenges (like falling off the roof of one embassy). And at times, it bordered on bending the law about spying on Canadian Citizens and Canada's allies, for purposes other than fighting the Soviet Menace.
As I said, the book has been on my shelf since 1995, so the material in it is a quarter century old. At the time of publication, it was a hot topic (more so the last chapter, and how the changing political climate that was Canada in late 1995). So, it doesnt talk about any of the changes that would have occurred after 9/11 and the War on Terror (although it does talk about having teams of SigInt ready to deploy at a moment's notice, so I like to think that by late September 2001, Canada was doing its thing to help track and hunt down the terrorist who attack the United States). But since this is a book about the Cold War, which pretty much ended by 1992, this books is perfect for the time line it looks at.
This year, as part of my Canada Day celebration, I read this book - a brief look at the history of Canadian Spy network responsible for signals intelligence.
I Love things spy related. And I LOVE Canada. So this was a marriage I knew I would enjoy.
And yet, the book sat on my shelve for 25 years, waiting to be read one day. Like today.
The Signals Intelligence is something that doesn't get a lot of attention; it is sort of hush hush when it comes to books on espionage. (Puzzle Palace tends to be the one that gets the attention about the NSA in the States). So, to have a book talking about Canada's network is very unique.
When you think about it, Canada really does have a great opportunity, during the days of the Cold War, for Signal gathering and analysis. They are a hop, skip, and a jump from the Soviet Union, over the North Pole and other locations. And Mike Frost was one of those men who found himself stationed at such a listening post. But he didnt stop there.
With the help of the United States and Great Britain, Canada was able to establish and build their own network for signal gathering during a time when the world feared the rise of the Soviet Empire. Working to set up listening posts at various embassies around the world, Mike Frost and his team would gather the incoming signals from various governments, for analysis and action.
Sometimes, the job was easy. Sometimes, it had challenges (like falling off the roof of one embassy). And at times, it bordered on bending the law about spying on Canadian Citizens and Canada's allies, for purposes other than fighting the Soviet Menace.
As I said, the book has been on my shelf since 1995, so the material in it is a quarter century old. At the time of publication, it was a hot topic (more so the last chapter, and how the changing political climate that was Canada in late 1995). So, it doesnt talk about any of the changes that would have occurred after 9/11 and the War on Terror (although it does talk about having teams of SigInt ready to deploy at a moment's notice, so I like to think that by late September 2001, Canada was doing its thing to help track and hunt down the terrorist who attack the United States). But since this is a book about the Cold War, which pretty much ended by 1992, this books is perfect for the time line it looks at.
August 19, 2024
I picked this book out of a bin at Canadian Tire. I think the proceeds went to helping kids play sports.
Anyway, it's an interesting read about what Canada was up to in the world of spying back in the 70's through to 1990. What is so striking is how much the world has changed since then. The effort these guys went through to intercept communications and the equipment needed to do so was incredible. Compare that to current days when we are all under surveillance from our phones, computers, social media, written reviews (like this one), cameras everywhere, credit cards. The privacy concerns that Mike Frost worried about ethically infringing upon, are now freely given up by all of us. If Central Bank Digital Currency ever takes hold, that will be the last piece of privacy forfeited. And without privacy there is no freedom.
I know, that's a bit heavy from reading an outdated book purchased out of a $3 bin at Canadian Tire.
Anyway, it's an interesting read about what Canada was up to in the world of spying back in the 70's through to 1990. What is so striking is how much the world has changed since then. The effort these guys went through to intercept communications and the equipment needed to do so was incredible. Compare that to current days when we are all under surveillance from our phones, computers, social media, written reviews (like this one), cameras everywhere, credit cards. The privacy concerns that Mike Frost worried about ethically infringing upon, are now freely given up by all of us. If Central Bank Digital Currency ever takes hold, that will be the last piece of privacy forfeited. And without privacy there is no freedom.
I know, that's a bit heavy from reading an outdated book purchased out of a $3 bin at Canadian Tire.
November 6, 2023
Started off interesting, became less and less so as the book progressed. I don't blame the author (Michel Gratton) for this; it's just that the job he's describing is not nearly as interesting as popular culture might lead you to believe.
The epilogue was a little bizarre. Did it really only occur to Mr Frost after his sons were grown and out of the nest, that it could be hard on them to have a mostly absentee father? Is anyone truly that oblivious?
A tedious read.
The epilogue was a little bizarre. Did it really only occur to Mr Frost after his sons were grown and out of the nest, that it could be hard on them to have a mostly absentee father? Is anyone truly that oblivious?
A tedious read.
August 5, 2019
Livre documentaire vraiment intéressant même s'il date un peu. Ça donne une idée de quoi était capable le CST à cette époque et nous laisse imaginer de quoi il doit être capable à ce jour avec l'évolution des technologies. Beau débat de savoir quelles limites franchir ou pas selon le devoir d'État et sa propre conscience.
June 7, 2020
Très intéressante plongée dans le monde canadien -- et un peu américain -- des écoutes électroniques.
July 17, 2025
Five Stars!
Well written, informative. Countries, including our own 'use' people for their own purposes and they are disposable like used tissues.
Well written, informative. Countries, including our own 'use' people for their own purposes and they are disposable like used tissues.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews