Canadian authorities have arrested a suspected Russian spy, Canadian media said on Thursday.
The "suspected Russian spy," using the false identity of Paul William Hampel, was arrested at Montreal airport Tuesday as he was about to board a flight out of the country, according to the National Post.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg signed a security certificate last week declaring the man a danger to Canada, enabling authorities to arrest him, the newspaper said.
"A security certificate has been issued under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act against a foreign national," Melisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Day, told the Globe and Mail.
The Public Safety Ministry did not immediately return AFP's telephone calls seeking confirmation.
The arrest is Canada's first espionage arrest in more than a decade and a rare use of a secretive procedure that allows the federal government to arrest and expel an immigrant deemed to be a threat to national security.
The security certificate said the man was a foreign national engaged in espionage, a member of an espionage organisation and "a danger to the security of Canada," according to the National Post, which said it had obtained a copy of the document.