16 November 1943: Commissioner, RCMP to USSEA

Wood quickly wrote back to Robertson, and assured him that the RCMP had only translated the conversation. The actual monitoring had been “carried out by the Chief Telegraph Censor.” Wood explained that it was fairly standard practice to monitor long-distance calls originating from Halifax (a key wartime port and protected area). Wood stressed that the RCMP’s only diplomatic target was Fernando de Kobbe y Chinchalla (a Spanish consular official suspected of spying for the Japanese, investigated by Canadian, American, and British security services at various points), which Robertson was well aware of. Wood asked that the names of all consular officials be forwarded so that he could ensure these conversations were not monitored.