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Ottawa finally aids brainwashing victims

It sounds like a science fiction plot or a horror movie: A front organization for the American CIA sets up shop in Canada to engage in mind control experiments. But it's no fiction, it's the discussion on the floor of the House of Commons and among lawyers for the Department of External Affairs. Canadians caught up in the research, including a member of Parliament's wife, may finally get some action from the government in their pursuit of answers and compensation.

Ottawa finally aids brainwashing victims

• The brainwashing experiments discussed in this clip were conducted by American doctor Ewan Cameron at McGill University's renowned Allen Memorial Institute in the 1950s and 1960s. It was part of a larger project by the U.S. CIA's Cold War mind-control research program called MK-ULTRA. In 1988, nine Canadians received nearly $67,000 US compensation from the CIA. The Canadian government, which provided some funding for the project, also compensated some victims in 2007.

• CBC Television's The Fifth Estate first tackled this story in a March 11, 1980 program. The episode of The Fifth Estate referred to in this clip aired on Jan., 17, 1984 and followed up on the question of compensation for the victims of Cameron's tests.

• In 1998, author Anne Collins published In the Sleep Room about the brainwashing experiments. To watch an interview with her please visit CBC Television's The Hour. Her book inspired the CBC miniseries The Sleep Room which aired in 1998 and won the Gemini for best TV movie or mini-series.

Ottawa finally aids brainwashing victims

Medium: Radio

Guest(s): Charles Cole, Allan Lawrence, Allan MacEachen, David Orlikow

Reporter: Denise Rudnicki

Duration: 7:02

Last updated:
April 8, 2008