The Russian Federation has a rich heritage of over $ 16 million worth of buildings in the Montreal region. All of these assets were acquired during the Cold War and are linked to espionage and counter-espionage operations.
Our Bureau of Investigation has found a lot of interesting information about these assets, some of which are shrouded in mystery. The embassy did not respond to our queries regarding this.
The Russian embassy in Montreal has long been monitored by the Canadian Secret Service, and there was even a temporary storage in a building opposite it. The government complex is made up of three luxury apartments on Golden Square Mile worth about $ 14 million. They were derived from wealthy Montreal families, including the Molsons.
The sale documents of one of the USSR buildings were signed by Thomas Henry Pentland Molson. He came from a famous Montreal brewery family and bought the Club de Hockey Canadian in 1957 with his brother Hartland. A few months after the birth of his grandson Jeff Molson, the current owner of Montreal Canadians, he sold his affluent apartment for $ 152,000.
The building next door is meanwhile subject to a story worthy of a spy film.
On January 14, 1987, a fire broke out in the central building of the embassy. Soviet guards initially denied access to firefighters, while staff evacuated Communist government documents from the back of the building.
When firefighters were finally able to access the interior, they were meticulously monitored by consular staff who tried to prevent them from entering some of the rooms.
The most covert operation
Despite the efforts of the Soviets, the Canadian Secret Service receives the remains of a house completely destroyed by fire.
Government agencies scrape the rubble in an attempt to locate documents belonging to their eastern block rivals.
A few years later, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) agent who participated in this top-secret operation called Project F even filed a lawsuit against his employer.
The hand was said to have been contaminated with bacteria while sorting debris by hand from the Chamberland fire.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, many citizens have been protesting in front of the Russian embassy in Montreal.
Diplomats had to handle suspicious packages in March, our intelligence bureau revealed. After the embassy found the white powder in two envelopes, it delivered an airtight box to open its mail.
No fines
- Canada has not taken any action against Russian government assets or ambassadors since the start of the war in Ukraine. European countries such as France, Germany or Italy have already expelled many ambassadors due to the invasion.
- Five buildings owned by the Russian Federation are exempt from property tax, as are all buildings owned by foreign governments in Quebec. Vladimir Putin’s country has to pay only one hundred dollars a year to the city of Saint-Columbus to collect and recycle waste.
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