A Quebec court judge has rejected a bid by the province’s hydro utility to pre-emptively redact some information at an economic espionage trial.
Yuesheng Wang, 38, a former Hydro-Québec worker, was charged in 2022 for allegedly spying on behalf of China.
The utility asked the trial judge this week to impose orders to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information about its partners and its projects.
But in a lengthy oral ruling today, Quebec court Judge Jean-Philippe Marcoux says Hydro-Québec’s lawyers failed to establish that the publication of the information in question would pose a serious and real risk for a commercial interest.
As well, Marcoux says the information Hydro-Québec wanted sealed or redacted was too generic to constitute a commercial secret.
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Wang’s trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but was delayed because of Hydro-Québec’s motion, which was filed late last week.
As of noon, it wasn’t immediately clear when the federal Crown prosecutors would begin presenting their evidence for the trial.
Wang, 38, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was arrested in 2022 and authorities say he is the first person to be charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act. He was also charged under the Criminal Code for fraudulent use of a computer, fraudulently obtaining a trade secret and breach of trust.
In April 2024, Wang was arraigned on two additional charges of committing preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity and informing that entity — the People’s Republic of China — of his intentions.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2025.
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