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In 1941, the RCMP recruited Frank Hadesbeck, a Spanish Civil War veteran, as a paid informant to infiltrate the Communist Party. For decades, he informed not only upon communists, but also upon hundreds of other people who held progressive views. Hadesbeck's "Watch Out" lists on behalf of the Security Service included labour activists, medical doctors, lawyers, university professors and students, journalists, Indigenous and progressive farm leaders, members of the clergy, and anyone involved in the peace and human rights movements.
Defying every warning given to him by his handlers, Hadesbeck kept secret notes. Using these notes, author Dennis Gruending recounts how the RCMP spied upon thousands of Canadians. Hadesbeck's life and career are in the past, but RCMP surveillance continues in new guises. As Canada's petroleum industry doubles down on its extraction plans in the oil sands and elsewhere, the RCMP and other state agencies provide support, routinely branding Indigenous land defenders and their allies in the environmental movement as potential terrorists. They share information and tactics with petroleum industry "stakeholders" in what has been described as a "surveillance web" intended to suppress dissent. A Communist for the RCMP provides an inside account of Hadesbeck's career and illustrates how the RCMP uses surveillance of activists to enforce the status quo. A Communist for the RCMP provides a street-level account of Frank Hadesbeck's career as an RCMP informant and how security services use surveillance to reinforce the status quo.
"The Canadian government has made exceptional efforts to erase or seclude documents related to decades of RCMP dirty tricks, but A Communist for the RCMP provides stunning insights into the nuts and bolts of the force's infiltration campaigns. Dennis Gruending provides a rich and masterful narration of previously unseen informant files, creating an unrelenting account into the everyday work of RCMP infiltration. This book makes it clear that the RCMP have always been governed by the politics of capitalism and settler colonialism; it is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the politics of RCMP spying."
"In this fascinating and well-researched book, Dennis Gruending pulls open Cold War curtains to detail the life of an RCMP informant focused on catching perceived subversives instead of actual 'criminals.' Too often, Cold War tales of espionage and surveillance have focused on what the other side did to us. A Communist for the RCMP chronicles what we did to ourselves over decades in the name of anti-communism. In the eternal struggle for civil liberties, Gruending exposes what the state is prepared to do against those who peacefully challenge the status quo."
"A Communist for the RCMP makes a compelling and timely contribution to our understanding of police surveillance in Canada. Gruending's detailed account of RCMP informant Frank Hadesbeck's life tells the story of Canada's nefarious and disruptive surveillance practices. In the process, and given the ease with which the state and corporations monitor our lives and intimate habits today, we are reminded, if we needed it, that 'Big Brother' is still watching."
"The RCMP monitored the activities of tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians during the twentieth century, but we know little about how and why they did so. Gruending shares the story of Frank Hadesbeck, an informant who capitalized on his credibility as a Spanish Civil War veteran to infiltrate communist, socialist, and labour movements for over thirty years. At a time when we are all increasingly aware of being surveilled, this book offers fascinating insight into the motivations and operations of one of those who watched."
"A Communist for the RCMP by Dennis Gruending is an amazing exploration of the RCMP recruitment of Frank Hadesbeck, a Spanish Civil War veteran, as a paid informant to
Defying every warning given to him by his handlers, Hadesbeck kept secret notes. Using these notes, author Dennis Gruending recounts how the RCMP spied upon thousands of Canadians. Hadesbeck's life and career are in the past, but RCMP surveillance continues in new guises. As Canada's petroleum industry doubles down on its extraction plans in the oil sands and elsewhere, the RCMP and other state agencies provide support, routinely branding Indigenous land defenders and their allies in the environmental movement as potential terrorists. They share information and tactics with petroleum industry "stakeholders" in what has been described as a "surveillance web" intended to suppress dissent. A Communist for the RCMP provides an inside account of Hadesbeck's career and illustrates how the RCMP uses surveillance of activists to enforce the status quo. A Communist for the RCMP provides a street-level account of Frank Hadesbeck's career as an RCMP informant and how security services use surveillance to reinforce the status quo.
"The Canadian government has made exceptional efforts to erase or seclude documents related to decades of RCMP dirty tricks, but A Communist for the RCMP provides stunning insights into the nuts and bolts of the force's infiltration campaigns. Dennis Gruending provides a rich and masterful narration of previously unseen informant files, creating an unrelenting account into the everyday work of RCMP infiltration. This book makes it clear that the RCMP have always been governed by the politics of capitalism and settler colonialism; it is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the politics of RCMP spying."
"In this fascinating and well-researched book, Dennis Gruending pulls open Cold War curtains to detail the life of an RCMP informant focused on catching perceived subversives instead of actual 'criminals.' Too often, Cold War tales of espionage and surveillance have focused on what the other side did to us. A Communist for the RCMP chronicles what we did to ourselves over decades in the name of anti-communism. In the eternal struggle for civil liberties, Gruending exposes what the state is prepared to do against those who peacefully challenge the status quo."
"A Communist for the RCMP makes a compelling and timely contribution to our understanding of police surveillance in Canada. Gruending's detailed account of RCMP informant Frank Hadesbeck's life tells the story of Canada's nefarious and disruptive surveillance practices. In the process, and given the ease with which the state and corporations monitor our lives and intimate habits today, we are reminded, if we needed it, that 'Big Brother' is still watching."
"The RCMP monitored the activities of tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians during the twentieth century, but we know little about how and why they did so. Gruending shares the story of Frank Hadesbeck, an informant who capitalized on his credibility as a Spanish Civil War veteran to infiltrate communist, socialist, and labour movements for over thirty years. At a time when we are all increasingly aware of being surveilled, this book offers fascinating insight into the motivations and operations of one of those who watched."
"A Communist for the RCMP by Dennis Gruending is an amazing exploration of the RCMP recruitment of Frank Hadesbeck, a Spanish Civil War veteran, as a paid informant to