June Callwood (1924–2007)

I remember hearing about Igor Gouzenko defecting from the USSR embassy and revealing that some Canadians were accused of giving secret information to the USSR. I don't think I ever heard that one of the accused spies was a Doukhobor woman from Saskatchewan. That woman, Emma Woikin, worked in the cipher division of External Affairs during World War II. June Callwood examines her life from her childhood on a farm, early marriage, death of her first child, suicide of her husband, her time in show more Ottawa, the prison term she served and her return to Saskatchewan where she worked as a legal secretary and married again. It's a fascinating tale but also one of injustice and inequality. Emma didn't sell top secrets to Russia and it's doubtful if what she did pass on was of any help to the Russians who got the information. She was not told she could have a lawyer and she certainly wasn't told that she didn't have to answer questions. She was sentenced to two and half years in prison. Because the sentence was longer than two years she had to serve it in Kingston Penitentiary. Another accused spy, Kathleen Wilsher, was also in Kingston. Conditions there were pretty awful but Emma seldom complained.

In all, thirteen people were arrested and charged with spying but ultimately only 7 were convicted. It is now felt that most of them did not pass anything of importance. The Gouzenko affair looks like a tempest in a teapot. show less

This is the story of Emma Woikin, Canada's most unlikely spy. She was convicted of sharing information with Russia and sent to jail in Kingston.

Emma was a Canadian-born Dukhobor living in Saskatchewan. The book details her early life, and that of Dukhobor immigrants which is very interesting, and a part of our history I knew little about.

As a young adult, Emma moves to Ottawa to work for the federal government and agrees to share information with the Russian government. Her motivations are show more not clear, but it appears that she believes the Russian government takes better care of citizens than Canada does.. She thinks she would not have lost her husband and baby with the better medical care provided by communism.

Despite lots of interviews with Emma's friends and family, the author failed (in my opinion) to draw a coherent portrait of Emma. She seemed to be neither a hardened traitor nor a duped innocent...her motivations were more nuanced, However, what those motivations were remains unclear....a matter of speculation.

It was interesting to read about the defection of Mr. Gouzenko and the angst it caused the Canadian government. I had no idea! It was also enlikghtening to read about the lack of civil rights Emma had during the investigation into her actions.

On balance, I think the background about the historical period was more interesting than Emma herself, but a good read nonetheless. show less

Very good story about sailing along the east coast of America and the ICW to the Bahamas. I have done most of the trip myself but not the east Coast of Canada. Brings back memories and I feel I could do the trip again sometime. Silver Donald Cameron is a character with the humour of the Atlantic Provinces.

Fascinating story. Lots of true courtroom drama and lots of interesting expert testimony about sleep and sleep disorders presented more or less verbatim.