Source: The Canadian Press

Police have recovered all the classified documents stolen from Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney’s car in a smash-and-grab in Montreal earlier this month, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday.

Flaherty said he was informed of the Nov. 1 theft of Carney’s travel bag and documents last week and that he is satisfied the documents have been recovered.

“I knew there had been a crime and a theft last week, and that … the stolen documents were recovered and the police investigation continues,” he said.

Flaherty said he spoke to Carney about the incident and that “no harm was done.”

The finance minister did not say whether he was concerned about the security breach involving one of Canada’s top public officials responsible for setting monetary policy for the country.

“We all have our own security procedures, we all try to protect documents as much as we can,” he said.

The incident has caused the Bank of Canada to launch a review of its internal security procedures, particularly to ascertain why Carney’s chauffeur left the locked vehicle unguarded on a Montreal street with the documents inside.

A spokesman for the central bank said security procedures dealing with sensitive information are reviewed with staff on a regular basis, including drivers.

“As per their job profile, drivers are expected to exercise sound judgment, understand and use proper protocol, and demonstrate security awareness,” said the spokesman, Jeremy Harrison.

“In performing these duties, the driver must maintain a constant and heightened awareness of the surroundings, assess potential threats or obstacles and choose the appropriate actions in accordance with established security guidelines,” he added.

Harrison would not confirm Flaherty’s assertion that all the documents had been recovered, saying only that Carney’s travel bag had been found.

A spokesman for the RCMP in Montreal also would not confirm the recovery of the documents, saying the matter was under investigation.

The central banker was in Montreal on bank business when a thief smashed the window of his government-owned Chrysler 300 and made off with the travel bag.

Police would not say when the bag and documents were recovered.

The incident is the third of its kind in recent years, the most troubling coming when former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier left top secret documents at his girlfriend’s home. The incident led to Bernier’s resignation from cabinet.

Harrison says the documents didn’t contain any “market moving” information and didn’t have government security classification.

But the documents, which included staff reports and briefing notes, did contain internal Bank of Canada security classification, he said.

He added that the incident seemed to be a first.

“To the best of my knowledge I have no other recollection of any other breaches of official vehicles,” Harrison said.

The Bank of Canada is in charge of the country’s monetary policy and tightly controls the information it releases.