Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 4, 2013 as CSIS Should Be Subject of Independent Investigation Months of surveillance-related leaks from U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden have fuelled an international debate over privacy, spying, and Internet surveillance. The Canadian-related leaks – including disclosures regarding spying on the Brazilian government and […]
Surveillance: America's Pastime by Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: naixn, Jason Smith / feastoffun.com) (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Surveillance
Snowden Documents Show U.S. Spy Operation at G20 in Toronto
The CBC reports that newly obtained Snowden documents reveal that the Canadian government allowed the NSA to conduct widespread surveillance during the 2010 G8 and G20 summits. The six-day spying operation was apparently conducted in close coordination with the Canadian partner.
Federal Ct Takes CSIS To Task In Case Involving CSEC Requests for Foreign Agency Spying on Canadians
Since the first Snowden revelations earlier this year, there has been much speculation about the use foreign intelligence agencies (such as the NSA) to conduct surveillance on Canadians. While the government is always careful to say that CSEC does not spy on Canadians, many suspect that each of the “five eyes” agencies (the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) do it on their behalf. Yesterday, a federal court judge confirmed the practice as part of a decision that found CSIS “breached its duty of candour to the Court by not disclosing information that was relevant to the exercise of jurisdiction by the Court and to the determination by the Court that the criteria of investigative necessity and the impracticality of other procedures set out in subsection 21 (2) of the CSIS Act had been satisfied.”
The lack of candour appears to arise from the failure to disclose that the CSIS warrants would involve seeking CSEC assistance in requesting foreign interception of Canadian communications:
the Court has determined that the execution of the type of warrants at issue in Canada has been accompanied by requests made by CSEC, on behalf of CSIS, to foreign agencies (members of the “Five Eyes†alliance), for the interception of the telecommunications of Canadian persons abroad.
BCCLA Files Lawsuit Over CSEC Surveillance
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has filed a lawsuit against the Communications Security Establishment Canada over its surveillance practices, which it argues are unconstitutional. Statement of claim is here, press release here, and media coverage here.
Who Is Watching the Watchers?: A Panel on Canadian Privacy and Surveillance
The University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law will be hosting a panel featuring University of Ottawa faculty on Canadian privacy and surveillance on October 16th from 11:30 – 1:00 titled Who Is Watching the Watchers? I’ll be participating on the panel along with Craig Forcese, Ian Kerr, Valerie Steeves, and […]
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