Tag: online spying
Kent Roach & Craig Forcese: Press the reset button on security
The ongoing work of Professors Kent Roach and Craig Forcese on C-51 provides the most exhaustive analysis of the bill and is a must-read for anyone concerned with the issue.
Article by Kent Roach and Craig Forcese for the National Post
Security issues are a campaign issue — at least we think they are. To date, little has actually been said on the topic, and what has been said amounts to the parties doubling down on entrenched and vague (even symbolic) positions.
Ian Mulgew: Court chooses Internet privacy in limiting police access to text messages
When you send a text message, do you assume it stays just between you and your friend? What about the police?
Article by Ian Mulgew for the Vancouver Sun
The B.C. Court of Appeal has struck a blow for Internet privacy at the expense of letting walk a Nanaimo man accused of drug trafficking because of his text messages.
The Varsity: Why Bill C-51 (and your privacy) matter
Here's why our privacy is so important to us. If you value yours, keep speaking up to repeal C-51 at KillC51.ca
Article by Kaitlyn Simpson for The Varsity
The year is 2011: Edward Snowden has just come forth with a shocking disclosure regarding the United States National Security Agency’s invasive and secretive practices. The initial media storm gradually grew into a serious and thoughtful conversation about what privacy means in our technological age — naturally, some were outraged, while others felt it was justified.
Never Home: Federal government gives itself unprecedented spying powers
How reckless legislation like Bill C-51 is already affecting families here in Canada.
Article by Never Home
New anti-terror and security legislation grants extraordinary powers for surveillance, secret hearings, and preventative detention in Canada.
Security: Refugees and permanent residents are facing secret trials, deportation or limbo due to tightened security processes. New anti-terror legislation and the secret police bill grant extraordinary powers for surveillance, secret investigative hearings, and preventative detention without charge. Under the vague guise of ‘terrorism,’ citizenship can be revoked from some Canadians.
CBC: Most kids’ apps, websites collect and share personal information
When it comes to online data collection, children are the most vulnerable audience.
Article by CBC News
Most apps and websites for children collect personal information such as photos and addresses, and many say they may share that information with third parties, an annual global privacy survey suggests.
Common Sense Canadian: Why privacy matters in this Canadian election
Most Canadians do not want to give up their privacy rights. This election, will you vote for online privacy? Pledge your vote at OurDigitalFuture.ca
Article by Kevin Grandia for Common Sense Canadian
While you are out this weekend enjoying the last days of summer on the beach and the RCMP come by to check whether your cooler is full of (gasp) beer or wine, you have every right to tell them (I would suggest politely) that no, they cannot look in your cooler.
The Register: Canadians taking to spying on their spies
The Internet has changed Canadian politics. Issues like C-51 simply don't go away. This election is our best chance to repeal C-51, pledge your vote at OurDigitalFuture.ca
Article by Trevor Pott for The Register
Comment As Canadians settle in for the longest general election campaign since 1867, some uncomfortable incidents that had been ignored by commercial media outlets are gaining new exposure.
WJS: Study Finds ‘Supercookies’ Used Outside U.S.
Bell Canada is one of the few carriers still using the evil 'supercookies' to track their customers. Thanks, Bell...
Article by Elizabeth Dwoskin for WSJ
Most major US wireless carriers are no longer using controversial identifiers that some researchers call “supercookies,” but their use appears to be extensive overseas.
iPolitics: Top gun advocate turns on Tories, runs as Independent
Huge numbers of conservatives are speaking out against reckless Bill C-51. Despite Harper's Conservatives' efforts to keep the gun lobby in their camp, the sector warns about the dangerous power-grab this legislation gives the security sector, threatening Canadians’ privacy rights. Let's keep fighting until we Kill C-51 --> KillC51.ca
Article by Claire Wahlen
Straight: Date set for committee to hear complaints against CSIS at secret hearing in Vancouver
Next week the SIRC is holding a secret hearing about a complaint that alleges CSIS illegally spied on activists and First Nations people. The high-profile case is being led by our friends at BCCLA.
Article by Travis Lupick for the Georgia Straight
A group of B.C. environmentalists is about to have its day in court in a high-profile case against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Huffington Post: Trudeau On Bill C-51 Stance: ‘Perhaps It Was Naive’
No Kidding! So, what are you going to do about it now?- call him to change his tune at KillC51.ca
Article by Althia Raj for the Huffington Post
TORONTO — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau acknowledged Thursday that his position on the Conservative’s anti-terrorism Bill C-51 may have been “naive.”
Ottawa Citizen: The devastating cost of securing our skies
Amira Elghawaby from NCCM highlights even more ways that C-51 violates our rights.
Stand up against this reckless legislation at KillC51.ca
Article by Amira Elghawaby for the Ottaza Citizen
Who pays the price for a highly-secretive security regime intended to protect North Americans who travel by air?
CTV: File breach at electronic spy agency prompts mandatory privacy training
This is the agency our government is telling us to "just trust" with our secrets?
Article by Jim Bronskill for CTV News
OTTAWA - Canada's electronic spy agency introduced mandatory privacy awareness training for all employees in March following an internal breach involving personal information.
Confirmed: We didn’t need Bill C-51
Before C-51, laws and arrangements often allowed for the sharing of information for national security purposes. C-51 adopts an excessive approach that will harm online innovation, political discourse and our civil liberties. Speak out to get it repealed at KillC51.ca
Article by The Canadian Press for CBC
Motherboard: Canadian police looked into buying hacking software
The Internet, the greatest tool for connectivity that humankind has ever invented, ins in danger of being turned into something it was never intended to be— a tool for governments to spy on the private lives of everybody.
Article by Matthew Braga for Motherboard
A secret deal was proposed between CSIS and Canada Border Services Agency
Before Bill C-51, CSIS shared information with other federal agencies - but they needed the Public Safety Minister's permission. C-51 removes political oversight, giving CSIS access to 16 other agencies information about you without even needing to ask. Speak out now to get the bill repealed at KillC51.ca
Article by Alex Boutillier for the Toronto Star
VICE: Opposition to C-51 is as high as it’s ever been
Even after the bill passed, opposition to C-51 is as high as it's ever been.
This reckless legislation is shaping up to be a key election issue. Speak out now to get it repealed at KillC51.ca
Article by Justin Ling for Vice
Canadians aren't the biggest fans of C-51, the anti-terrorism bill that is now law.
Macleans: How Bill C-51 is clearly shaping the election
A new government could amend or repeal it before the end of this year. Let's keep building opposition to C-51 until October and then let's get it repealed: KillC51.ca
Article by Aaron Wherry for Macleans
C-51, the government’s anti-terrorism act, was given royal assent one week ago. Many provisions of the bill are now in force. But even with the Governor General’s signature, C-51 is still something of an open question—an unsettled matter of policy and politics.
CBC: Even CSIS didn’t need Bill C-51
Now we learn that even CSIS didn’t want the extreme privacy-undermining measures in Bill C-51. Speak out at KillC51.ca
Article by CBC News
The Conservative government alarmed privacy advocates by overhauling the law to give Canada's spy agency easier access to federal data, even though the spies themselves said greater information-sharing could be done under existing laws, newly released documents show.
Yahoo News: The fight against Bill C-51 is just beginning
We'll make sure as many of the parties as possible commit to repeal Bill C-51. Speak out now at KillC51.ca
Article by Sheena Goodyear for Yahoo News
It may have already passed into law, but the fight against Bill C-51 is far from over.
Sen. Mobina Jaffer, Canada’s first Muslim senator, says she’ll hit the ground running with organizations fighting the controversial anti-terror law this summer and work with whichever party is elected government in the fall to repeal the parts she believes are divisive and dangerous.
Canadians from coast to coast are speaking up!
Despite massive opposition from hundreds of thousands of everyday Canadians and the country’s top privacy experts, reckless Bill C-51 is now law.
Bill C-51 violates our Charter rights and could lead to dangerous and unconstitutional measures. Above all, it underlines just how stark Canada’s privacy deficit has become.
Throughout this whole process, over 275,000 Canadians have signed the petition against the bill and tens of thousands more have inundated MPs and Senators with letters, phone calls, emails and tweets to express their opposition. We are witnessing one of the largest campaigns in Canadian history.
One of the most powerful actions Canadians are taking is using our Letter-to-the-Editor tool. This powerful tool has enabled Canadians to successfully publish dozens of letters in over 70 major Canadian newspapers, an effective and innovative way to speak out and spread the word in local communities against Bill C-51.
CBC: Bill C-51 is now in force. What changes?
On Thursday afternoon Bill C-51 received Royal Assent and is now in force. Let's keep building opposition to C-51 until the election and then let's get it repealed: KillC51.ca
Article by Hadyn Watters for CBC
Bill C-51, the Conservatives' anti-terror legislation, received royal assent Thursday afternoon and is now law.
iPolitics: Senators were flooded with thousands of your emails over Bill C-51
Senators received thousands of letters from all of you! Thank you for speaking up, Canada! Let's keep up the fight until this reckless bill is repealed. We're demanding all party leaders to commit to repeal it, take action now at KillC51.ca
Article by Kristie Smith for iPolitics
Many senators say they’ve been stunned by the overwhelming flood of email they’ve received over C-51, the highly controversial Harper government security bill that passed a Senate vote earlier in the month.
Huffington Post: Liberals were caught off guard when candidate MacLeod stepped down over C-51 vote
After candidate MacLeod stepped down over Trudeau's C-51 vote, the Liberal party issued a statement saying his resignation was for personal reasons...
Article by Althia Raj for the Huffington Post
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are staying mum about a star candidate who just turned on them.
Heroes and Zeros - here’s how your Senators voted on Bill C-51
Yesterday we witnessed how the Senate passed Bill C-51. Once again, the government used its majority to ram the unpopular legislation through the Senate by 44 votes to 28, a much closer margin than many expected. The legislation - opposed by a whopping 56% of Canadians with just 33% in favour - will now become Canadian law. But many are wondering who were the Senators who sided with Canadians, and who were those who sided against them.
Bill C-51 Just passed. Where do we go from here?
This just in from Ottawa: The Senate just passed Bill C-51 today by 44-28, despite massive opposition from hundreds of thousands of everyday Canadians and the country’s top privacy experts. Reckless Bill C-51 will now become Canadian law.
Here’s who sided with Canadians: Most of the independent Senators from the Liberal Party and independent Progressive Conservative Elaine McCoy. Thanks to each and every one of them for doing the right thing and trying to prevent this dangerous Bill from becoming law. Sadly, Conservative Senators were able to use their majority to ignore Canadians and force this bill through.
Global: Conservative groups call for repeal of Bill C-51 in open letter to Harper
Nearly 100 traditionally libertarian and conservative organizations like the National Firearms Association and Free Dominion, have signed a letter circulated by your OpenMedia team asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to kill Bill C-51.
Groups and individuals can continue to sign on at: https://stopc51.ca/conservative
Article by Vassy Kapelos for Global News
Eyes on the Spies: Canadians deserve accountability
A version of this article by our David Christopher was originally published by The Tyee, as part of a new series about Canada's Privacy Plan
For anyone involved in the privacy debate, it’s been a busy couple of years. Barely a week goes by without new revelations about the activities of the Canadian spy agency known as Communications Security Establishment (CSE), and its Five Eyes partners in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.
Dozens of community events are taking place across Canada this Saturday May 30 to #RejectFear and #StopC51
Just a few days before the final vote on Bill C-51, everyday Canadians want to take a stand against this reckless, dangerous and ineffective bill. That’s why dozens of community-organized events are taking place across Canada tomorrow (Saturday), in the third round of nationwide protests.
They range from rallies taking place in a number of major cities, to smaller outreach events and petition drives. Many of these are planned as intimate local events, as Canadians reach out to their neighbours and local communities to warn them about how this legislation will affect our everyday lives.
National Observer: A first-hand account of government surveillance
This journalist experienced first hand what Canada will look like if Bill C-51 is passed. Keep speaking up at StopC51.ca
Article by Darren Fleet for the National Observer
Out of morbid curiosity I made a Freedom of Information request to the government spy agency, CSIS. I asked them if I had ever been subject to surveillance. To help with their inquiry, I gave them my name, and a brief description of my activities over the past five years – writing, environmental and social activism, and working for the Vancouver Observer and Adbusters magazine.
How Canadians can end mass surveillance
A version of this article by our David Christopher was originally published by The Tyee, as part of a new series about Canada's Privacy Plan
Just two short years ago, if you stopped people on the street and asked about mass surveillance, you’d have likely been met with a blank stare. Older generations may have brought up scenes from long-toppled totalitarian regimes, such as the system of ubiquitous domestic surveillance designed by East Germany’s spy agency, the Stasi.
Bill C-51 violates Universal Declaration of Human Rights, OSCE finds
When the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization says Bill C-51 violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you know we're in trouble.
Article by ThinkPol
The Harper government’s controversial anti-terrorism bill violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Canada has ratified, according to legal analysis by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization.
Did Conservative Senator Yonah Martin just delete her Twitter account to stop Canadians asking her about Bill C-51?
On May 6th we witnessed how the government used its majority to ram Bill C-51 through the House of Commons after only two days of debate. The legislation - now opposed by a whopping 56% of Canadians with just 33% in favour - will now be considered by the Senate. This is why at OpenMedia we updated our StopC51.ca action platform so that our petition, signed by more than 230,000 Canadians, now targets the Senate. The platform shows each Senator’s voting intentions and also serves as a quick tool to send Senators an email or a tweet.
Our team made sure we had our facts right, so we checked the Senator’s emails and added the Twitter tool for those who had Twitter profiles. Conservative Senator Yonah Martin was one of the few Senators with an active Twitter account. As seen below, her Twitter handle @YonahMartin was a real thing until not so long ago…
Check out what experts had to say at our Privacy Town Hall earlier today
Earlier today we held a Privacy Town Hall to launch Canada's Privacy Plan - our crowdsourced pro-privacy action plan that was shaped by over 125,000 everyday Canadians.
Check out what people had to say:
On this Facebook thread
On this Reddit AMA
We had great expert guests to cover all the bases - thanks to each and every one of them for taking part:
Cindy Blackstock, Gitxsan activist for child welfare
Tom Henheffer, Executive Director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Connie Fournier, Co-founder of the principled conservative forum Free Dominion
Brenda McPhail, Director of the Privacy, Technology and Surveillance Project at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association,
Brett Gaylor Canadian documentary filmmaker and creator of Do Not Track
David Christopher, lead author of OpenMedia's "Canada’s Privacy Plan"
Our positive crowdsourced action plan to turn the Bill C-51 debate on its head and restore the privacy rights of every Canadian
A version of this article by our David Christopher was originally published by The Tyee, as part of a new series about Canada's Privacy Plan
Today’s the big day, folks: this morning, OpenMedia is launching our positive, pro-privacy action plan, packed with ideas from everyday Canadians about how to roll back Bill C-51, end mass surveillance, and restore the privacy rights of everyone who lives in Canada.
Check out Canada’s Privacy Plan right now at PrivacyPlan.ca or download the full 96-page report as a PDF right here. And join with leading experts today (Wed) at 11am PT / 2pm ET for a live Facebook discussion about the privacy challenges Canada faces.
We wrote this plan together, Canada: this 96-page report is packed with ideas and feedback from over 100,000 Canadians, including over 10,000 of you who used this crowdsourcing tool to provide detailed input on how you want to tackle our privacy deficit.
National Post: Did Laurie Hawn just apologize for his remarks against Canadian business leaders?
Laurie Hawn has (kind of, maybe, sort of?) apologized on his Facebook page after people innundated his online and social media platforms with messages urging him to #SaySorryLaurie. Big thanks to our community, this would never have happened without you speaking out! Now let's keep up the pressure for a full retraction and a proper apology.
Article by Jake Edmiston for the National Post
A Canadian tech CEO says the government cast him as unpatriotic for opposing the anti-terror bill. But the Tory MP who made the comments in question says he was completely misinterpreted.
Mulcair replies to business leaders concerned about economically risky Bill C-51 - but why is Harper staying silent?
Two weeks ago, over 60 leading Canadian business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs published a joint letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the National Post, warning of the economic risks of Bill C-51, and calling on him to go back to the drawing board on the controversial and unpopular legislation.
Who’s on our side?: Here’s how your MPs voted on Bill C-51
Last Wednesday we witnessed how reckless Bill C-51 got a step closer to becoming the law of the land. The government used its majority to ram the unpopular legislation through Commons after only two days of debate. The legislation - now opposed by a whopping 56% of Canadians with just 33% in favour - will now be considered by the Senate. But many were wondering who were the MPs who sided with Canadians, and who were those who sided against them.
Canadians from all political stripes have come together against reckless, dangerous, and ineffective Bill C-51, and top privacy and security experts have spoken out about the serious threat this Bill poses to our democratic rights. Bill C-51 underlines just how worrying Canada’s privacy deficit has become in addition to undermining our constitutional rights in many other ways.
We’ll keep up the fight against C-51… until we win!
This just in from Ottawa: The government have ignored Canadians and used their parliamentary majority to force Bill C-51 through the House of Commons. Despite massive opposition from hundreds of thousands of everyday Canadians and the country’s top privacy experts, the reckless Bill is a step closer to become the law of the land.
Here’s who sided with Canadians: 96 MPs from the NDP, the Green Party, the Bloc Quebecois, and Forces et Démocratie. Thanks to each and every one of them for doing the right thing and voting down this Bill. Sadly, Conservative and the Liberal MPs teamed up to force it through - and we won’t let them forget it come October’s election.
B.C. experts ring the alarm on Bill C-51 as it is set to get voted
We ain't giving up this fight, and we are going to keep it up all the way through to the October election if that's what it takes. You have only a few more hours to tell your MP to vote against reckless, dangerous an ineffective Bill C-51. Speak out: https://stopc51.ca/?src=blg
Article by Stefania Steccia for Vancouver 24hs
B.C. experts say the impact of the federal anti-terrorism bill spells a significant loss of privacy rights for everyone, and it’s getting voted on this week before heading to the Senate for final approval.
Common Dreams: We are making sure your voice is heard before it is too late to #StopC51
We are speaking out as much as we can to make sure your voice is heard: Bill C-51 will recklessly endanger our rights and our privacy. Here's another great coverage thanks to your support. Keep speaking up at StopC51.ca before it is too late.
Article by Nadia Prupis for Common Dreams
Canada's House of Commons on Tuesday is poised to pass Bill C-51, a so-called "anti-terror" law, despite widespread outcry from civil liberties advocates who say the legislation would allow law enforcement to spy on civilians and violate Canadians' constitutional rights with little or no accountability.
Your letters about Bill C-51 are being read all across Canada
As the House of Commons debates the government’s Bill C-51, opponents of the Bill are intensifying their efforts to urge MPs to listen to Candians and reject the controversial legislation. One of the most powerful actions Canadians are taking is using our Letter-to-the-Editor tool. This powerful resource allows Canadians to successfully publish dozens of letters in over 30 major Canadian newspapers, an effective and innovative way to speak out against Bill C-51.
The message coming across again and again in newspaper letter pages across Canada is that this reckless bill will undermine our basic democratic rights, and Canadians won't stand it. The more people discover about Bill C-51, the less they like it. That's why writing a letter to your local paper about why you oppose it is so effective.
BCCLA: The amendments to Bill-C51 don’t change our core concerns about this reckless bill
None of the amendments to Bill C-51 begin to address the fundamental threat on basic rights and freedoms, experts say.
Article by Carmen Cheung for BCCLA
This week, the Senate’s Standing Committee on National Security and Defence continues its pre-study of Bill C-51, while an amended version of the Bill proceeds to third reading in the House of Commons.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (“SECU”) made just four amendments to the omnibus bill, despite hearing witness after witness express serious concerns about the Bill and its impact on basic rights and freedoms. We don’t think these amendments even begin to address the fundamental flaws in the Bill, and discuss why in our submissions to the Senate. These submissions also include our take on some of the comments made by government lawyers at the clause-by-clause review of the Bill at SECU – comments which deal with the scope of the new CSIS powers; accountability in cases where information sharing by government results in harm to individuals (as we saw with Maher Arar); and whether the Federal Court of Canada is being asked to authorize unconstitutional activities by CSIS agents under the proposed warrant regime.
Bill C-51 by the numbers: Learn more about the dangerous, reckless and ineffective bill
Still trying to wrap your mind around Bill C-51? Here's an interesting infographic from CJFE. Learn more about why Bill C-51 is irresponsible, dangerous, and ineffective.
Article by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
[Yesterday marked] the anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the critical document that underpins our Canadian democracy. Bill C-51, Canada's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, threatens these rights that shape our country's values and puts our freedom at risk.
As a part of #StopC51 Education Week, we have put together an infographic highlighting some of the statistics and criticism of this dangerous legislation. Please share the image below, and take the time to read more about why Bill C-51 is irresponsible, dangerous, and ineffective.
WORLD POLICY JOURNAL: Just how exposed are Canadians to NSA spying?
Canadians are under the NSA’s microscope - and it’s time for that to change. Here are practical steps from Privacy Coalition expert Prof. Andrew Clement to help safeguard Canadian networks from foreign spies. If you want to help shape a crowdsourced pro-privacy plan for Canada, be sure to add your voice at https://openmedia.org/privacyplan.
Article by Prof. Andrew Clement for World Policy Journal
TORONTO—Edward Snowden’s June 2013 leak has shone unprecedented light on the dark underside of Internet connectivity. So far, however, Canada has remained a victim largely hidden in the shadows.
Ottawa Citizen: Stanford study reveals just how much of your private info is exposed through metadata
We all know that the metadata spy agencies collect on us can be hugely revealing. Now this Stanford study underlines just how much of our private lives can be exposed through this government spying.
Article by Ian Macleod for the Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — The kind of “metadata” that can be gleaned from smartphone records — the same type of data targeted by Canadian and American intelligence agencies — can reveal highly sensitive personal information, a new study at Stanford University has revealed.
“We were able to infer medical conditions and more, using solely phone metadata,” report Jonathan Mayer and Patrick Mutchler, researchers at Stanford’s Department of Computer Science.
The Globe and Mail: Inside CSEC’s new headquarters
How did CSEC officials describe their two-hour long conversation with the Globe and Mail? "Uncomfortable." Colin Freeze takes a look into Canada's ultra-secretive spy agency CSEC.
Article by Colin Freeze for the Globe and Mail
No cellphones, no recording devices, no computers.
No names.
The seven officials at the boardroom table insist that their identities cannot be published – the risk, one explains, is that they would become targets of a “hostile foreign intelligence service.”
How Canadian companies can fight surveillance
Canadian Internet Service Providers are eerily silent when it comes to information about whether or not they have assisted ultra-secretive spy agency CSEC with their surveillance of law-abiding Canadians. Jon Penney discusses what Canadian companies can do to help fight surveillance.
Article by Jon Penney for The Citizen Lab
The Communications Security Establishment’s surveillance practices raise significant privacy concerns but full answers, transparency, or substantive reforms ensuring democratic oversight from either CSEC, or the Canadian Government, are not likely forthcoming. Canadians should also care about what to do in the meantime. Professor Michael Geist has recently posted about what average Canadians can do about mass online surveillance and Professor Kent Roach has written about where to direct reforms. Here, I want to talk about what Canadian internet companies can do, or do differently, to help fill Canada’s transparency void.
Last week, CSEC chief John Forster appeared before the Senate’s national defence committee and did little more than deny allegations of mass surveillance on Canadians, while Senators struggled to pin him down. Given the Prime Minister’s vote of confidence in CSEC, via his top security advisor, any change, or full accounting of the agency’s activities, is unlikely anytime soon.
Digital Journal: What will it take for CSEC spying to spark more outrage?
In this hard-hitting op-ed, George Arthur asks what it will take for Canadians to get answers about out-of-control spy agency CSEC.
Article by George Arthur for the Digital Journal
This is the question I am left with as I consider what it will take for Canadians to demand answers about the true operations of the spy agency that is set to move into the most expensive governmental building in the nation’s history.
According to the careers page for Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), “2014 promises to be an exciting year.” The organization is scheduled to move into “a newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility co-located with the Headquarters of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service” (CSIS). The new home for Canada’s top spies “will be the largest repository of Top Secret information in Canada.”
Toronto Star: Independent Investigation of CSIS oversight is needed
This hard-hitting piece by Professor Michael Geist argues for a full, independent investigation into CSEC's spying activities. As Parliament is set to resume shortly, the time has come for MPs to take a far greater interest in what our security services are doing in our name.
Will 2014 be the year when our out-of-control spy agency is finally reined in? Call for an end to all illegal spying on Canadians at https://OpenMedia.ca/CSEC
Article by Michael Geist for the Toronto Star
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 the facilitation of spying at the G8 and G20 meetings hosted in Toronto in 2010 — have certainly inspired some domestic discussion. Ironically, the most important surveillance development did not involve Snowden at all.
Privacy Commissioners Speak out Against Bill C-30
Last week, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police had called on the government to revive the invasive Online Spying Bill C-30 – legislation that would grant them warrantless access into the private data of citizens.
Now, three of Canada's Information and Privacy Commissioners have spoken out in defence of Canadians' right to privacy online – stating that should law enforcement need additional powers, "they must come with appropriate judicial oversight and accountability".
Call on your MP to stand against the warrantless Online Spying Bill C-30. Read more on this response by the provincial Information and Privacy Commissioners at The Windsor Star.
The Tyee: Police won’t say if they use cell phone surveillance technology
After last week's push to revive invasive Online Spying Bill C-30, police are now refusing to comment on whether they have accessed Canadians' cell phone data without a warrant.
Call on your MP to speak out against this intrusive expansion of surveillance powers at OpenMedia.ca/Stand.
Article by Andrew MacLeod for The Tyee
Police in three major Canadian departments have declined to confirm whether they have the technology to identify people in a crowd based on the unique identifiers on their cellphones.
"It reflects a massive invasion of privacy," said David Eby, the executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, speaking about the technology which can be used to capture the International Mobile Subscriber Identity or International Mobile Equipment Identity on cellphones and other devices.
Eby said the BCCLA became interested in whether the technology was being used here after reading about it in a British newspaper article.
Online spying bill C-30 threatens Canada’s national security
An access-to-information request from The Globe and Mail has revealed that Canada’s Communications Security Establishment has concerns about our nation’s network security. Specifically, the documents show that Huawei Technologies—a Chinese company that has become the world’s leading maker of telecom equipment—has been the subject of national security concerns.
With all these security worries in the air, it seems strange that Ottawa should continue to consider a bill that could leave Canadians’ personal data less secure. Online spying bill C-30—a contentious piece of legislation that has provoked the ire of Canada’s privacy commissioners, legal experts, and wider public—could, if passed, lead to the creation of giant, unsecure registries of every Internet user’s personal data.
Online Spying Bill absent from government list of fall priorities
I spy with my little eye something that is missing from the government’s fall calendar. It’s something that’s been highly controversial, would become an invasive measure towards Internet surveillance, and would provide authorities with warrantless access to our private information. Out of guesses? It’s the hotly-contested Bill C-30, otherwise known as the online spying bill, that the government has so far omitted from their Parliamentary schedule.
This is a huge victory for those who signed the StopSpying.ca petition, spread the word about the bill using our educational resources, or called on MPs to take a stand against warrantless online spying. Your participation in Canada’s Internet freedom movement is clearly making a difference—the government had initially committed to pushing this invasive and costly online spying bill through the legislative process within the first 100 sitting days of Parliament last year.
EFF: Proponents of Canada’s Online Spying Bill Still Trying to Justify Excessive Powers
A few weeks ago, we shared how Richard Fadden, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, had put forth an offer to help justify and tweak the Online Spying Bill (C-30) to make it more 'palatable' to the Canadian public. This proposed alliance between Toews and CSIS was met with a resounding disapproval from the pro-Internet community.
Our friends at Electronic Frontier Foundation have written about the new developments in Canada's fight against online spying. Let's tell CSIS that online spying will never be palatable to Canadians and that we're fed up with Bill C-30, join our petition and make your voice heard at http://StopSpying.ca.
Article from the EFF:
Canada’s online surveillance bill may be on hold for now, but a recent news article confirms that a rather formidable figure has been angling for its return: Richard Fadden, head of the Canadian equivalent of the FBI. Fadden, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), wrote in a letter that the highly contentious Bill C-30 was “vital” to protecting national security. The letter was sent to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, the driver behind Bill C-30, in late February. It was released to the Canadian Press in response to a request filed under the Access to Information Act.
CBC News: CSIS advising Toews on online surveillance bill
CSIS has expressed interest in adding their own provisions to the online spying bill, in the hopes that it will be passed through government.
Letting the security lobby write its own laws is not a step in the right direction. In fact, it suggests how dysfunctional the law-making process has become under Vic Toews. Laws should be citizen-centric, not lobbyist-centric.
Tell your MP to stand against this invasion of privacy at http://www.openmedia.ca/stand.
From CBC News:
Canada's spy chief backs the Conservative government's troubled bid to bolster Internet surveillance powers, and has offered to help tweak the legislation to make it more palatable to a wary public.
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