The number of RCMP officers assigned to the spy case and the number of people appointed to the espionage commission's staff were limited to a small group of individuals in order to maintain security and secrecy.  My research revealed that many of the key figures involved in prosecuting the suspected spies had previous links to each other through organizations such as the Canadian Bar Association. 

The defection proved to be a major career boost to many of these people. No less than three of the lawyers involved in the state's prosecution of the suspects were appointed to the bench (the federal government makes virtually all judicial appointments in Canada). E.K Williams was the government's legal advisor who recommended the use of a royal commission and later advised the commission. He became a justice of the Supreme Court of Manitoba. J.C. Cartwright, the lead prosecutor, and Gérald Fauteux, one of the commission's three legal advisors, were appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. James C. McRuer of the Ontario High Court presided over four of the espionage trials and established several precedents which allowed the commission's transcripts to be used in court. He was soon appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeals as Chief Justice (the highest ranking judge in Ontario) and later led the Ontario Royal Commission on Civil Rights (1967). D.W. Mundell, the third legal advisor to the commission, served as assistant to the Attorney General of Ontario and was appointed to McRuer's civil rights commission. All five men were also members of the Canadian Bar Association and had served on the Association's executive board at one point and time. Finally, the lead RCMP investigator, C.W. Harvison, was appointed RCMP Commissioner in 1960.

The following is a quick list of the key figures involved in the espionage commission and the Gouzenko Affair. Biographical information on leading political figures, such as Mackenzie King or Louis St. Laurent, is available on web sites such as First Among Equals: The Prime Ministers in Canadian Life and Politics.   If you have additional information on any of these individuals or others involved in these events, please make use of feedback form to add material to the site.

The Commissioners

Roy Lindsay Kellock

Robert Taschereau

The Lawyers

Gérald Fauteux

D.W. Mundell

E.K Williams

The Judges (spy trials)

James C. McRuer

The Police

C.W. Harvison

Inspector John Leopold

The Suspects