Navy spy case barely caused diplomatic ripples between Canada and Russia

OTTAWA – The arrest of a Canadian naval officer spying for Russia did little to discourage Canada from welcoming that country’s defence chief to a Newfoundland meeting of Arctic nations last year.

The visit underscored the puzzling lengths to which the Harper government went to carry on a business-as-usual relationship with the one-time Cold War adversary in the wake of the Jeffrey Delisle case.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show that when the scandal involving Delisle broke in January 2012, Canada had not yet asked a group of Arctic nations to an April meeting of chiefs of defence.

And yet — despite the damage caused by Delisle’s espionage on behalf of the Russians — Gen. Nikolai Makarov was invited to and attended the get-together, meant to enhance co-operation between Arctic countries.

Most other planned military contacts between the two nations last year — including participation in the anti-terrorism exercise Operation Vigilant Eagle — also remained curiously normal.

It happened at a time when the Harper government was struggling to explain to its allies how a junior officer could filch a vast swath of top secret information without so much as raising an eyebrow within the Canadian Forces.