A Hydro-Quebec employee has been arrested for spying, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Monday. It is alleged that Yuesheng Wang obtained industrial secrets with the intention of benefiting the People’s Republic of China and that he acted against the economic interests of Canada.
The RCMP’s Integrated National Security Team opened an investigation last August following a complaint from Hydro-Québec. Mr. Wang allegedly obtained the information he had access to as part of his duties, according to the RCMP statement.
The employee was a researcher at the Center of Excellence in Transport Electrification and Energy Storage (CEETSE), a division that does research and development in the field of battery materials. Mr. Wang was doing work related to battery materials there. Hydro-Quebec indicates in a press release that it did not have access to information relating to the basic mission of Hydro-Quebec.
“Hydro-Québec is part of essential infrastructure and constitutes a strategic interest to be protected. The RCMP and its partners are working with at-risk sectors to improve Canada’s response and resilience to this threat,” the RCMP wrote in its statement, noting that “interference by foreign actors is a priority for many law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world”.
“Our detection and intervention mechanisms enabled our investigators to bring the case to the attention of the RCMP, with whom we worked closely. No organization is immune to such a situation and we must therefore constantly remain vigilant and transparent and not tolerate any breach of the Code of Ethics,” said Dominic Roy, senior director responsible for corporate security at Hydro-Quebec.
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