Manitoba MP suggests Canada, allies aware of 'recovered UAP' or UFO materials in note to defence minister

A Manitoba member of Parliament wrote Canada's minister of defence this spring suggesting the country hasparticipatedin a secret multi-nation program devoted to "the recovery and exploitation" of material from unidentified aerial phenomenon, more commonly known as unidentified flying objectsor UFOs.

Last week, the podcastWeaponizedpublished a letter thatappears to be from Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguireaddressed to Defence Minister Anita Anandon March 22, 2023. Other copies appeared online weeks earlier.

Citing meetings with unnamed "American officials," Maguiresuggests Defence Research and Development Canada "is in possession of recovered UAP material."

"As Minister of National Defence, you may not be aware [DRDC]has participated in efforts to analyze UAP," reads a portion of the letter.

"It is incumbent your department inform you what collaborative efforts have occurred with our allies and the details of existing agreements and memorandum of understanding that govern the program and may have been co-ordinated through Global Affairs."

The letter refers to a"Five Eyes Foreign Material Program" Maguire says exists between Canada, theU.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand that has been sponsored byCanadian Forces Intelligence Command Canada.

The Conservative MP goes on to write"it is essential" Canada's chief science advisor be let in on the program.

Maguire calls for more parliamentary oversight and for Anand and the Canadian government to develop a public communication plan ahead of what he termed "upcoming public revelations that will stem from these American [foreign material programs]."

A spokesperson with Maguire's constituency office in Brandon declined to comment by phone, and Maguire did not respond to requests for comment over email. The Conservative Party of Canada also did not respondto a CBC News request to interview Maguire.

A spokesperson with National Defence Minister Anand's office said she is "kept fully apprised of relevant incidents through established reporting protocols."

She received the letter and told Maguire in response that neither Defence Research and Development Canada nor the Canadian Forces Intelligence Committee are involved in any "formal analysis of UAP," according to a statement sent to CBC News on Monday.

All efforts studying UAP at the federal levelstopped in the 1960s, the spokesperson said.

Winnipeg-based science writer Chris Rutkowski, who has written extensively on the topic of UAPsand UFOs, also said Maguire's office confirmed to him last week the MP did send the letter in question.

"There's no question that this is the type of information that is currently circulating and being investigated right now at fairly high levels within the American government,"Rutkowski said of the assertions in Maguire's letter.

"The implication is that the Canadian government ... shouldbe a little more transparent with regards of its role, and if there's some indication that Canada perhaps is falling behind in this involvement,that would be of concern to, I suppose, sovereignty."

He doesn't know where Maguire would've obtained the detailshe included in the letter. Rutkowski acknowledges there isno explicit mention of aliens in the letter.

Rutkowski has been collecting data and releasing reports on UAP sightings for decades. Many sightingshaveprosaic explanations, but not all.

Rutkowski said the DRDC has been around a long time and Canada has "a long record of looking into UAP and and UFOs" for decades. There have been manymilitary and pilot reports of UAP in Canadian skies over the years, he said.

"So, the fact that there would be government programs out there that we are not really aware of looking into this is certainly possible," he said. "I suspect that what Mr. Maguire is trying to do is tosort of winnow out which departments are involved."

Rutkowski previously briefed Anand's predecessor on UAPs. He said he did the same with Maguire when he asked for a briefing in 2021.

Officials from Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealandattended a first-of-its-kind U.S. government UAP task force meeting in Washington earlier this month where they received a briefing.

Details remain classified, though the stated purpose of the meeting was so friendly nationscould co-operate on the sharing of information on UAP sightings.

That meeting came around the same time as a former U.S. combat officer and UAP task force representative claimed that the country is in possession of craftof non-human origin which it has obtained over decades.

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NASA and the task force director have both advocated for clearer channels for military and other officials to report sightings, in part as a means of countering stigma.

Canada'sSky Canada Project referenced in Maguire's letter formed last fall to study how UAP reports are managed.

This isn't the first time Maguire has issued statements about UAP or the stigma around the subject.

In May 2022, he wrote about it on Substack.

Days later in Parliament, he questionedthen-deputy minister of natural resources John Hannafordabout why there were no formal reporting processes in place to report UAP or drones spotted near nuclear facilities.

He urged Hannaford to help "reduce stigma and to take the issue seriously" by directing security officials and officials at nuclear facilities to properly report"UAP incidents."

And last fall, Maguire and fellow Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill) had an exchange on Twitter where Maguireposted a copy of a letter dated Sept. 22 that suggested the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Forces Intelligence Command received a briefing from several U.S. officials on UAPs.

Rutkowski suggested the topic, oncereflexively ridiculed by many, is sheddingsome of its stigma as more military personnel, pilots, scientists and politicians continue to weigh in.

"The fact that we are talking about this at all shows that it is being taken very, very seriously, and Mr. Maguire is not alone," Rutkowski said.

Canada's Department of Defence told CBC News that Canada occasionally receives anecdotal reports of "unusual phenomenon, but they are only investigated when considered "potential threats or events of distress."

"We will continue to work closely with our allies and domestic national authorities [to] ensure the safety of Canadians," the DND spokesperson said in an email Monday.

"This collaboration includes providing updates as requested by parliamentarians, for example, through parliamentary committees. In addition, DND and the Canadian Armed Forces maintain lines of communication with NORAD and the United States Department of Defense, and routinely exchange information on a number of subjects as part of our long-standing cooperation."