Quebec city councillor’s trip to Russia sparks security review

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OTTAWA — Gatineau city council is reviewing if its IT systems were compromised after a local councillor travelled to Russia with municipally owned computer equipment, potentially creating a security risk for the municipal government located in the National Capital Region.

Mike Duggan brought government-owned IT equipment with him on a recent “personal trip” to Russia, triggering a security protocol last week, with the municipality scrambling to protect its computer networks from potential spyware or malware.

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Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette said Duggan is now following the city’s protocol after returning from his trip. The city has not said when exactly Duggan travelled to Russia, and Duggan has not clarified when he went.

The federal Global Affairs ministry advises Canadians that Russian “authorities may place foreigners under surveillance” and that “hotel rooms, telephones, fax machines and e-mail messages may be monitored.” Also, that “personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched.” It has advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Russia.

“The protocol really allows us to ensure the integrity of the city’s IT services and processes,” Marquis-Bissonnette said. The review is ongoing, but the mayor was optimistic that the city’s networks are safe. “What seems to be demonstrated is that the city’s servers have not been compromised by the situation,” she said.

“I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Duggan was careless,” said Marquis-Bissonnette.

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Duggan has been a critic of western support for Ukraine as it fights against Russia’s invasion. In October 2022, months after the invasion began, he said that “certain NATO members are at war against Russia on Ukrainian soil.” He called on the Canadian government to not provide military aid to Ukraine, which he said would “cause more deaths” by extending the conflict.

In an email responding to questions from National Post about his trip, Duggan said “his private life is not really a valid topic for public reporting.” Regarding the IT security issues, he said he would rather not make “such sensitive issues public.”

“The current Russophobia widespread in public discourse, obviously, prevents me from commenting until emotions have calmed down and the facts have had a chance to be taken into account,” he wrote.

Sources at the Gatineau municipal government say Duggan informed colleagues a few weeks ago of his plans to travel to Russia for research purposes. One said Duggan claimed he was interested in researching environmental issues, but also the war against Ukraine, and reportedly said he had no intention of using public funds for the trip.

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“You know, Mike is a character,” a source at Gatineau city hall said.

In a statement, the city said any travel with city IT equipment requires authorization. It did not say if Duggan had authorization.

Neither the city nor the federal government would say whether Ottawa was involved in the security review, but a former National Defence official said the Communications Security Establishment, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service should look into the Duggan case.

“The federal level has a responsibility to do national security prevention,” said Steve Waterhouse, now a specialist in IT security.

Waterhouse noted that Gatineau is part of the National Capital Region and is home to many federal government offices. If Duggan’s equipment and the municipality’s infrastructure were compromised, it could affect the federal government, he said.

“If he wanted to go for personal reasons, he could have left his stuff here and that’s it. But now he’s brought all his correspondence and his data from the city,” Waterhouse said.

Mike Duggan was first elected to city council in 2013 and has been re-elected twice. He has represented three different wards, and also ran unsuccessfully for the Conservative party federally in 2019.

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Duggan has often made local headlines for his spats with reporters and his controversial stances. In 2022, he publicly apologized after initially defending the appearance of an American Confederate flag at 2022’s Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.

“Here, if you go to the countryside, you will see that it is a symbol of rebels, a symbol to say that we do not adhere to federalism. It is like the flag of the patriots in Quebec,” he told Le Droit newspaper at the time.

National Post
atrepanier@postmedia.com

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