On Guard For Thee

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.

The second part of a trilogy of films on Canada's national security operations and civil liberties during the past half-century. When Winston Churchill called for a grand alliance against Soviet communism, after World War II ended, it signalled the beginning of the Cold War, with universal tensions and distrust. Spies, counter-spies, and double agents dominated the world scene. Canadians reached for a security blanket and the ensuing secret witch-hunts left a trail of deception, despair and death. Civil servants were put through strict security checks, and two diplomats died while under suspicion. This climate of deception climaxed in Quebec in 1970, when the FLQ crisis revealed the confusion besetting governments and police forces in their dealings with national security and civil liberties.

The third part of a trilogy of films on Canada's national security operations and civil liberties during the past half-century. With the dawn of the 1970s, an age of international terrorism set in. National security took on new meaning and new importance. The FLQ crisis and the severe application of the War Measures Act tarnished the shining image of the Mounties, for years the proud symbol of this country. Consternation and bewilderment followed, and it is not clear whether the police were running the politicians, or vice versa. Shocked and demoralized police forces became hesitant headliners at hearings and investigations across the nation. The McDonald Royal Commission conducted a lengthy study of Canada's national security operations and recommended a civilian security force be created to take over from the police.