The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will deploy national security specialist police officers in remote regions of Quebec, in order to protect critical infrastructure against hostile actors, we have learned The Press. A concrete example of the type of files that concern the authorities: new charges were brought Wednesday against a former Hydro-Québec researcher suspected of having engaged in economic espionage for the benefit of China.
Yuesheng Wang, a former Hydro-Québec battery scientist, was arrested by the RCMP in November 2022 because the police determined that he was engaging in industrial espionage. The Integrated National Security Team investigators’ thesis was that he had illegally obtained secrets from the state-owned company regarding the development of next-generation batteries.
Mr. Wang was charged with obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized use of a computer, fraud to obtain trade secrets and breach of trust by a public official. He denied the facts and was able to remain free while awaiting his trial.
PHOTO FROM YUESHENG WANG’S LINKEDIN PROFILE
Yuesheng Wang, accused of espionage
On Wednesday, the RCMP announced, however, that continued analysis of the file had led to the filing of two new charges, related to obtaining sensitive information in anticipation of an act of economic espionage and the fact of having informed a foreign entity or a foreign economic entity that he was prepared to commit an offense for its benefit. The indictment filed at the Longueuil courthouse clearly specifies that the actions were made for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China.
Improve presence far from the metropolis
Investigators assigned to national security investigations have put a lot of effort into countering the actions of the Chinese regime and its alleged sympathizers on Quebec soil in recent years, including the arrest of Mr. Wang and a former employee. of the Canadian Space Agency in Saint-Hubert suspected of having used his position to help a Chinese firm, as well as police operations targeting what the RCMP considered to be clandestine Chinese police stations in Montreal and Brossard.
But the police force now wants to improve its reaction capacity far from the mainland.
We must be present in the region. Those who pose a threat, they go towards things that are of interest to them. It’s not always in the big centers!
Sophie Thibeault, superintendent at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The RCMP already has a team of investigators in Quebec assigned to the protection of essential infrastructure. The team is based in Montreal, but it travels throughout the territory. It focuses its efforts on the transportation, energy, finance and telecommunications sectors, but its mandate includes all sectors deemed “essential to the health, safety or economic well-being of Canadians.” , as well as the effective functioning of government”, according to the definition of Public Safety Canada.
Investigators establish links with private and public companies in the sectors concerned, inform them about spy tricks, different threat indicators, and good security practices. In addition to hostile actions by foreign powers, they are responsible for preventing terrorism and computer hacking, for example. “The nature of threats is constantly changing. We are always dependent on what is happening on the international scene. It’s moving,” explains Sophie Thibeault.
“We have expert investigators in the field, who are really dedicated. The expertise is there,” she says.
North Shore and Bas-du-Fleuve
For 2024, the plan is to permanently have specialized police officers in regions such as Quebec, Sept-Îles and Rimouski. It is not excluded to further expand the deployment subsequently.
“National security is a priority for the RCMP, so I have had more resources added to our program,” says Superintendent Thibeault, who will be able to count on more personnel than last year in this sector.
The deployment of these new personnel comes as the United States authorities have just announced, on January 31, an operation to disrupt the activities of pirates in the service of the Chinese government who were targeting essential infrastructure on American soil using of malware. Canada and several allied countries also sounded the alarm about these clandestine computer activities last May.