On Guard For Thee

S1.E1 · October 18, 1981

The first in a trilogy of one-hour films on Canada's national security operations and civil liberties during the past half-century. In 1946, Igor Gouzenko, a Soviet cipher clerk in Ottawa, fled his embassy with documents unveiling his nation's spy network in Canada. It was Canada's first spy case and confusion reigned in official reaction. Counter-intelligence agencies in the United States and Britain became alarmed at the possible leak of the new atom bomb secrets, so man-hunts soon reached international proportions. In Canada, the government ordered the arrest of many suspected citizens, civil rights were suspended, and the ensuing events became a blot on the nation's history.