Canada's spy agency tried bribing a Quebec left-wing political party member into providing information on fellow anti-globalization activists this week, the approached man claimed yesterday.

Guillaume Tremblay, a candidate for the Union des forces progressistes in last spring's provincial elections, told reporters he was visited at his St. Jean sur Richelieu home Wednesday by two Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents.

"They made it clear I would get paid if I was ready to co-operate, although no exact amounts were given," Tremblay said. "They wanted names, phone numbers and addresses" of other like-minded militants.

In questioning by the male and female investigators, who identified themselves as terrorist experts for CSIS, Tremblay said, he was asked specifically about UFP colleague Amir Khadir and social activist Jaggi Singh. The visit lasted about 20 minutes.

Tremblay said he was surprised to find the agents had a file on him and his activities with the Quebec-based civil-disobedience group Operation SalAMI.

Before leaving, "they said it would be to my advantage not to talk to any left-wing groups like mine" about their visit.

Tremblay and Khadir instead called the news conference to denounce the CSIS action and publicly demand an explanation from Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, who is also the chief minister for emergency preparedness (which includes overseeing CSIS) and public safety.

Alex Swann, a special assistant to McLellan in Ottawa, confirmed yesterday his office had received a copy of the UFP statement.

He said he couldn't discuss any specific CSIS operation, but noted CSIS is governed by legislation, and there is a process for citizens to appeal actions by CSIS.

mking@thegazette.canwest.com