The Canadian Government has opened public access to thousands of federal government documents concerning UFOs. 9500 digitized documents spanning the years 1947 to the early 1980s have been made available through the Library and Archives Canada website. The archives are titled “Canada's UFOs: The Search for the Unknown” the files include correspondence, reports, memos and procedures, some of which specifically deal with UFOs. The files come from Canada’s National Defense Department, the Department of Transport, the National Research Council, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Canada's release of its UFO documents comes after Denmark, Britain, and France have released their archives.  One such memo details a UFO sighting at Shag Harbor witnessed by member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and six civilian witnesses on the night of October 4, 1967. The memo describes how “witnesses reported seeing an object 60 feet in length moving in an easterly direction before it descended rapidly into the water, making a bright splash on impact.” The report continued: “A single white light appeared on the surface of the water for a short period of time. The RCMP, with help from local fishermen and their boats, endeavored to reach the object before it sank completely.”

Another document describes an investigation by a Department of Transportation team led by Wilbert Smith, a senior radio engineer in 1950-1952. In his Project Magnet Report, Smith commented extensively on the flight performance of UFOs that were far in advance to anything known at the time:

… it is difficult to reconcile this performance with the capabilities of our technology, and unless the technology of some terrestrial nation is much more advanced than is generally known, we are forced to the conclusion that the vehicles are probably extra-terrestrial, in spite of our prejudices to the contrary."

Although all the files are not released yet, they do provide a comprehensive archive of data for the public to dissect.  It is unknown how many more countries will follow in releasing UFO files in the coming years. As President Obama heads to Canada on February 19, he may ask Prime Minister Steven Harper for tips on how the U.S. might release to the public its own classified UFO X-Files. Canada's UFO files can be viewed at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ufo/index-e.html