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CSE and mass surveillance in Canada
How Canada's shadowy metadata-gathering program went awry
The Globe and Mail 15/06/2013 - A week ago, most Canadians were unlikely to have heard of Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) and its program gathering "metadata" on untold numbers of global phone calls and online messages. But on Monday, The Globe and Mail  reported that the agency's operations, meant to collect foreign intelligence, also at least "incidentally" intercept the communications of Canadians. Many people were left to wonder: Is Ottawa invading our privacy? Now, it turns out that some officials in Ottawa had the same worry - as long ago as 2008, according to a report obtained by The Globe. Marked "Top Secret" and "CEO" (Canadian Eyes Only), the document sounds alarms over surveillance activities of great "complexity and breadth." "Some of CSEC's metadata activities raise issues that make us question whether CSEC is always in compliance with the limits," reads the report from the office of then-CSEC watchdog Charles Gonthier, a former Supreme Court justice. It flags questionable activities and the possibility that Canadians' private information had been compromised.
Read more
MacKay issued seven secret directives to eavesdropping agency: documents
The Canadian Press 13/06/2013 - Defence Minister Peter MacKay quietly issued new instructions to Canada's electronic eavesdropping agency that detail how and when it can help CSIS and the RCMP investigate Canadians, declassified records show. Briefing notes obtained under the Access to Information Act say the directive to the Ottawa-based  Communications Security Establishment was one of seven such ministerial instructions issued in November 2011. Details of the directive on assistance to police and other federal security agencies remain secret. Recent allegations that a key CSE ally, the U.S. National Security Agency, has access to a wide sweep of Internet traffic has sparked questions and concerns about Canadian surveillance operations. The CSE monitors foreign computer, satellite, radio and telephone traffic to zero in on threats to Canada and gather intelligence. It is not supposed to direct its activities at Canadians. However, the agency - which employs computer experts, linguists and mathematicians - can provide assistance to the Mounties and CSIS, Canada's domestic spy service.Read more
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State secrecy
Feds want to extend veil of permanent secrecy over 11 new agencies
Global News 16/06/2013 - The prime minister's national security adviser, federal lawyers who work on terrorism cases and intelligence analysts in the Privy Council Office would be forever forbidden from discussing sensitive aspects of their work under proposed new rules. The Harper government wants to pull the cloak of eternal  secrecy over past and present employees of nine federal agencies and those who used to toil at two now-defunct branches. They would join the more than 12,000 current and former federal intelligence officials already covered by Security of Information Act provisions forcing them to take the secrets of their most closely held work to the grave. A group that advocates a more open and accountable federal government called the blanket proposal "dangerously undemocratic."Read more
Ken Rubin: Three decades of secrecy under the Access to Information Act
The Toronto Star 19/06/2013 - When Pierre Trudeau's government began accepting requests under the Access to Information Act 30 years ago on July 1, 1983, media outlets had high expectations, despite the act's many exemptions.
But as governments grew defensive over  requests for information (like prime minister Brian Mulroney's foreign travel expenses), the expected flood of useful information gradually dried up. Recently, I was able to secure from Transport Canada several proposed options concerning the future of Via Rail. But after these were reported in the media and I filed a follow-up request, I was told that everything was secret and I never should have received the information in the first place. The level of deceit in what government provides publicly and what's hidden has not improved under Stephen Harper.
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NSA and mass surveillance in the US
The Secret War: NSA snooping was only the beginning. Meet the Spy Chief leading us into cyberwar
Wired 12/06/2013 - Alexander runs the nation's cyberwar efforts, an empire he has built over the past eight years by insisting that the US's inherent vulnerability to digital attacks requires him to amass more and more authority over the data zipping around the globe. In his telling, the threat is so mind-bogglingly huge that the nation has little option but to eventually put the entire civilian Internet under his protection, requiring  tweets and emails to pass through his filters, and putting the kill switch under the government's forefinger. "What we see is an increasing level of activity on the networks," he said at a recent security conference in Canada. "I am concerned that this is going to break a threshold where the private sector can no longer handle it and the government is going to have to step in." In its tightly controlled public relations, the NSA has focused attention on the threat of cyberattack against the US-the vulnerability of critical infrastructure like power plants and water systems, the susceptibility of the military's command and control structure, the dependence of the economy on the Internet's smooth functioning. Defense against these threats was the paramount mission trumpeted by NSA brass at congressional hearings and hashed over at security conferences.Read more
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Guantanamo
Former Montreal resident Djamel Ameziane fears persecution if returned to Algeria from Guantanamo
The Toronto Star 19/06/2013 - Djamel Ameziane should not be in Guantanamo Bay. That's what the Pentagon said in 2008 during the Bush administration. That's what the Obama administration's task force confirmed when they cleared Ameziane for transfer. And according to the list of the remaining 166 detainees released through a freedom of information lawsuit Monday, that assessment hasn't changed. But Ameziane,  a former Montreal resident and chef, remains trapped because he fears persecution if sent to Algeria, from where he fled two decades ago. No other country has offered refuge, including Canada where he once lived and has relatives and community support. The 46-year-old is now on a hunger strike in an effort to raise awareness about his detention and his lawyers are traveling throughout North America, airing a 30-minute video about his case, with stops in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto this week. Ameziane is one of the 104 prisoners on Guantanamo's hunger-strike according to the Pentagon's figures released Tuesday, but not one of the 44 who are being force-fed liquid nutrients. His American lawyer, Wells Dixon, said he's "on the cusp" of being force-fed as he has lost about 60 pounds since February and his health is deteriorating.
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Afghanistan
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Anti-terror legislation
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Airport security
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Criminalization of dissent
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Data and privacy
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Freedom of the press
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Immigration and refugee rights
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Islamophobia
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National security
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No fly list
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Rule of law
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Security certificates
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State secrecy
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Technology and surveillance
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War on terror
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Miscellenaous
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The views expressed in this News Digest do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG
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What is the News Digest?
The News Digest is ICLMG's weekly publication of news articles, events, calls to action and much more regarding national security, anti-terrorism, civil liberties and other issues related to the mandate and concerns of ICLMG and its member organizations. The ICLMG is a national coalition of thirty-nine Canadian civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
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Take action
Tell Harper: No Secret Spying!
Openmedia.ca - According to online surveillance expert Ron Deibert, a secretive Canadian government agency is collecting our sensitive private information, giving them  the power to "pinpoint not only who you are, but with whom you meet, with what frequency and duration, and at which locations." We need to use this moment-when privacy issues are in the spotlight-to get answers. Call on the government to stop this secretive spying scheme, and to tell Canadians exactly what's going on. We deserve to know
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Take action
Be Heard - No Attack Drones!
The Rideau Institute and Ceasefire.ca invite you to tell Stephen Harper, other party leaders, and your own MP that you do not support attack drones. Send your letter, right away.  |
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Humour
Whistleblower - feat. Edward Snowden [Rap News 19]
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Take action
Why are you proud to protect refugees?
Following recent changes to Canada's refugee determination system, it may be tougher to protect refugees in Canada.  Join the Canadian Council for Refugees in showing Canadians and the world why we are still proud to protect refugees and refugee rights.
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Take action
Campaign to stop the deportation of
Jose Figueroa intensifies
Supporters of Jose Figueroa are calling on Jason Kenney, the Minister of Immigration, to intervene and stop his deportation to El Salvador, and for Vic Toews, the Minister of Public Safety to make clear his position on the matter. More than a thousand signatures  were on a petition delivered to Parliament Friday. The campaign to keep the Figueroa family united has intensified since a recent Immigration decision accepted his wife's application to stay in Canada, but denied Mr. Figueroa based on Section 34(1) of the Act: "membership in an organization that engages in terrorism." People from the WE ARE JOSE campaign believe this to be an error and ask you to act to keep Figueroa family together in Langley, BC.
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Guantanamo will stay open and continue to be a place of "indefinite detention" for individuals cleared for release. This was the result of a vote Friday by members of the US House of Representatives, who rejected a 
