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Church spied on Revenue Canada

Title: Church spied on Revenue Canada
Date: Tuesday, 5 May 1992
Publisher: Toronto Sun (Canada)
Author: Bill Dunphy
Main source: link (43 KiB)

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The scope of Scientology's alleged spy network widened again yesterday with testimony the group had succeeded in planting a spy in Revenue Canada's Ottawa taxation offices.

"She obtained a confidential manual," former Scientologist Diane Fairfield said of a Scientologist she had recruited to spy on Revenue Canada.

No further details were elicited from Fairfield, who is testifying at the trial of the Church of Scientology and five members on charges of criminal breach of trust.

The charges relate to a wide-ranging intelligence operation allegedly run by Scientologists here in Canada in the mid-1970s.

The program targeted supposed enemies, including the RCMP, the OPP, Metro Police and the Ontario attorney general's office, court has heard.

Fairfield, testifying under a grant of immunity, also admitted recruiting two of the defendants — Donald Whitmore and Marilyn Bellaire — to act as Scientology "plants" at the RCMP and Metro Police respectively.

She also identified a third defendant, Jacqueline Matz, as a "case officer" running Scientology plants at the time.

She testified she saw Matz, wearing gloves, photocopying confidential government documents she believed had been obtained by Scientology plants.

The court also heard how Scientologists — alarmed by a police raid on Scientology in the United States — spent many months painstakingly cutting out references to their spies and sources from all of their intelligence files.

"We were afraid a raid here would show evidence of illegal actions."

The Toronto Sun Copyright (c) 1992, The Toronto Sun Publishing Corp.