The government had the option of fining the Chinese regime up to $25,000 for flying a suspected spy balloon over Canada without a federal permit, according to a briefing note from the Department of Transportation.
Between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, a high-altitude balloon owned by China flew across Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States. U.S. military fighter jets shot the balloon down and recovered it in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Department of Defence characterized the object as a “high altitude surveillance balloon” powered by solar panels, while the Chinese regime said on Feb. 3 it was a weather balloon.
The briefing note said that according to Canadian Aviation Regulation, no person shall “release an unoccupied free balloon having a gas-carrying capacity of more than 115 cubic feet, except in accordance with an authorization issued by the minister of transport.”
“Transport Canada remains in close communication and coordination with key partners and will not hesitate to take appropriate action to continue to ensure aviation safety for the traveling public,” the note continued.
The transport department briefing note, dated March 6, did not mention any security threat posed by the balloon.
“Many weather balloons are launched and sometimes they do cross the border. In addition to being launched on a schedule from designated locations, the balloons will be coordinated with air traffic control and carry a transponder or radar reflective material when necessary,” it said.
“The system worked,” then-transport minister Omar Alghabra told reporters at the time. “The North American Aerospace Defense Command did its job, identifying the object, tracking the object.”
On Feb. 14, then-Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said federal authorities were alert to Chinese surveillance. “We will continue to make sure we keep our eyes open in the skies to deal with the situation as it comes,” he said.
