Munsinger Affair - Possible Security Breach

Possible Security Breach

After the Gouzenko affair, matters of Canadian national security were not usually made subject of public debate. In 1966, however, the Liberal government came under attack for a security breach involving two Soviet diplomats and George Victor Spencer, a Vancouver mail clerk, who had been caught collecting information for the Soviet Embassy. On March 4, John Diefenbaker called Liberal Justice Minister Lucien Cardin "a dwarf in giant's clothing" for his handling of the Spencer case. Cardin rebutted the Tories by bringing up Munsinger's name in the House of Commons. Cardin believed Munsinger was dead, but aimed to criticize Diefenbaker's handling of the case five years earlier.

Munsinger was not dead, however, and was tracked down and interviewed in Munich by Toronto Daily Star reporter Robert Reguly. She freely admitted her numerous affairs with government officials to the Canadian media. The story dominated the media for weeks and was followed with rapt attention across the country. It became a massive distraction and all but shut down all other parliamentary activity for some weeks.

A Royal Commission was eventually held, and in his report, Supreme Court Justice Wishart Spence criticized the Diefenbaker government's handling of the case but found no criminal wrongdoing or security breach.