Russian Spy Arrested in Montreal

A Russian spy has been arrested in Montreal, Canada, on a rarely used national security certificate.  The man was taken into custody by the Canada Border Services Agency on Tuesday, said Melisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

Leclerc said Wednesday more information will become available as the legal process unfolds in Federal Court.

"There's not much I can say, because it's before the court.''

The National Post reported on its website late Wednesday that the man was arrested as he was about to board a plane to leave the country.

Officials at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service were working to identify the man, who entered Canada illicitly several years ago, keeping a low profile while developing a false identity, the Post reported.

CTV News reported Wednesday the man is  from Russia and was masquerading as a Canadian using the name Paul William Hampel.

Under federal immigration law, the government may use a certificate to deport a non-citizen suspected of being a risk to Canadian security.

The certificate must be signed by the ministers of immigration and public safety.

A federal judge examines the case, either upholding the certificate as reasonable or quashing it and setting the suspect free.

The security certificate system has become a flashpoint in Canada's fight against so-called  terrorism.

The certificates have now been used in 28 cases, almost all involving alleged "terrorism" or espionage, since 1991.

It is well known that foreign countries send agents to Canada in pursuit of economic and military secrets.

Two Russian diplomats expelled from Canada in 2002 were military attaches at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa,  being involved in espionage.

In 1996, two Russian spies were deported from Canada in disgrace.

Dmitriy Olshevsky and Yelena Olshevskaya, Russian jews according to their names, who went by the bogus names Ian and Laurie Lambert, made headlines in 1996 when they were arrested and swiftly removed from Canada.

Friends and co-workers were stunned to learn the pair were actually "sleeper" agents for the bloody Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, the successor to the ruthless KGB,  the Canadian Press reported.