Vancouver, B.C.- The BC Civil Liberties Association has launched a court action against the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) claiming that its broad and unchecked surveillance of Canadians is unconstitutional.
CSEC is the Canadian counterpart to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
The lawsuit argues that two aspects of CSEC’s operations violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ protections against unreasonable search and seizure and infringe on free expression:
1. The interception of the private communications of Canadians;
2. The sweeping collection of metadata information produced by Canadians in their everyday activities online and through phone conversations.
CSEC is permitted to read the emails and text messages and listen to phone calls when a Canadian is communicating with a person outside of Canada.
In order to intercept such communication CSEC must first get authorization from the Minister of National Defence.
"Unaccountable and unchecked government surveillance presents a grave threat to democratic freedoms," says Joseph Arvay, Q.C., lawyer for the BCCLA. "We are deeply concerned that CSEC is gaining secret, illegal access to the private communications of ordinary Canadians, and there are no reasonable safeguards in place to monitor its activities. We know from the experiences of other countries that government agencies have a tendency to push and even break the boundaries of spying unless they are checked."
BCCLA also says CSEC is allowed to collect and analyze the metadata information that is automatically produced each and every time a Canadian uses a mobile phone or accesses the internet. This private metadata includes the exact geographic location of the mobile phone user, records of phone calls and Internet browsing.
"This kind of wholesale surveillance is fundamentally incompatible with Canadian law," says David J. Martin, lawyer for the BCCLA. "Metadata information can reveal the most intimate details of Canadians’ personal lives, including relationships, and political and personal beliefs. The majority of Canadians use the Internet and telecommunications on a daily basis, and we should be able to do so without the government snooping on our personal information and monitoring our behaviour online."
The lawsuit was filed in the B.C. Supreme Court and is the first challenge to the legality of CSEC’s activities against Canadians.
Comments
Good for the BC Civil Liberties Assoc.
Good luck BCCLA. I am glad there are some out there that have the knowledge and the means to stand up for Canadians. This surveillance is unacceptable.
They musta really did a number in your cornflakes hey Racer?
This Government has gone way over board and needs to be held to more accountability for their actions 1.2 billion for a spy office really but we are paying for it at least they cut out the swimming pool as a cost saving measure.
Interesting that the BCCLA is all for broad surveillance of the police by making them wear cameras for their entire shift, but has made a lawsuit against CSEC.
I dont want cameras in all parts of my life either…so what is the happy medium?
Thank you BCCLA for standing up of Canadian citizens against Heir Harper and his Gestapo Government. Maybe we can put the CSEC spy agency to better use, like finding the 3.1 BILLION dollars the Harper Government lost!!!
Yes what a GREAT Idea. Hopefully they win so next July 1st some stupid lunatic can be successful at blowing up a bunch of innocent people who are celebrating Canada’s birthday. These agencies are looking to protect Canadians not find out if you are looking at porn or buying pot seeds from Amsterdam. Do you really think they have time to ‘SPY’ on the average Canadian. Pull your head out of the dark hole and think, you are not that important that the government cares that much about you. All they want are your taxes……unless you got something to hide.
* for Canadian citizens… I wish there was an edit feature for this site.
I think that if surveillance of the general population is **ok** , then we should start with our Politicians, Judges, Police, Lawyers, etc; etc;. Lets start at the top and work our way down.
Lets put camera’s and wire’s on Harper, Trudeau, Muclair, the House of Commons, and the Senate. Lets also put camera’s on the CBC, CTV, and anything else that moves.
Palopu, what makes you think there isn’t? Just because we don’t here it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Problem is Maverik, this technology is in its relative infancy, and this is only the start, the tip of the ice berg metaphorically speaking. The citizens of Canada need to be the ones who determine what is and is not acceptable. While you say they are not interested in you, why are they collecting the data? This is a proven fact.
As you say they are only “they” are only interested in our taxes, as a tax paying Canadian I do not approve of this method of use of my funds.
Regarding the need to spy on lunatics. If Canada was to actually exercise its “Canadian Values” as we had been previously known by through out the world rather than mimicking American foreign policy we would not be a target and would regain a reputation of a country of peace. It is shameful what this country has become.
BCRacer: “only those who have something to hide worry the most.”
This is a weak argument, imo. The real issue as I see it is that the CSEC’s spying activities are allegedly unchecked. Like with the police, there are rules and processes that need to be followed before you apply for a search warrant. This should be no different.
BCRacer wrote: “only those who have something to hide worry the most”
EXACTLY … that is why the officer who shot Greg Matters did not agree to have his interview taped but allowed only a written record which he could read and wordsmith before he signed it.
;-)
From the above report: “CSEC is permitted to read the emails and text messages and listen to phone calls when a Canadian is communicating with a person outside of Canada.”
Since the Gestapo in the 1930s and 1940s did not have such surveillance tools as we have today they promoted their version of neighbourhood watches and snitching on suspicious people and actions.
We have come a long way since those days. For a long time people in such democracies as Canada and the USA would point out how we would never do such things.
Wait long enough and everyone will drop to the lowest common practice no matter what country.
I see the French have now officially protested to the Americans for spying on them.
Since we are talking about electronic conversations of Canadians with people in foreign countries, we must not forget that we are doing the same as the USA, spying on the citizens of other countries.
“Heir Harper” try “Heir Obama”, the Yanks are the ones pushing this intrusion. I agree with you(just threw up in my mouth), but to leave this issue on Harper underscores your bizarre hatred of the man and party. They have been in power for 7 years. The last with a majority. Most Canadians clearly don’t agree with your biased leftard views.
There was a report on TV last night that with the increasing amount of data being made available about citizens in the USA and presumably Canada and some other countries, clearances at monitored border crossings and boarding of aircraft may be able to be completed in much shorter times than now since they would have profiles on everyone.
No more NEXUS cards required between USA and Canada for speedy border processing.
We know who you are and what you do. You took across too many undeclared goods during your trips to the USA according to your emails with your family. You will be tagged for searches from now on ….
So easy to transition from one well-intentioned purpose to another, isn’t it?
“Most Canadians clearly don’t agree with your biased leftard views.”
Please, use correct terminology.
Most Canadian who voted ……. That is a far cry from most Canadians, especially these days when Canadians seem to have less and less respect for politicians.
So Harper doesn’t have a majority? Semantics again Gus.
I don’t dare to state how I really feel about this issue.
Last I heard of these activists was they were staunchly supporting their Civil Liberty’s folks out in Quebec fighting for the rights of women to wear the hijab and niqab. Thought that demeaned women. Just curious, are they using taxpayers dollars in this lawsuit against big brother?
Sorry, I’ve got no use for BCCLA.
I do not think you understand the meaning of semantics dow 7500
“the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. There are a number of branches and subbranches of semantics, including formal semantics, which studies the logical aspects of meaning, such as sense, reference, implication, and logical form, lexical semantics, which studies word meanings and word relations, and conceptual semantics, which studies the cognitive structure of meaning”
I simply pointed out that “Most Canadians clearly don’t agree with your biased leftard views” has nothing to do having a majority in parliament. The statement may be true, but you would have to present a different argument to verify the truth of it than stating that it is because Harper has a majority in parliament.
The two have completely different logical meanings.
If you do not understand that, then that is your problem, not mine.
Grizzly1 wrote: “Sorry, I’ve got no use for BCCLA.”
Luckily we still live in a country which allows you to make such a statement.
If one does not test the system every now and then, one day we may find that the system no longer works the way it was designed to work.
Think of it as having a fire drill. ;-)
Film everything I say.
Just more lawyers making money with idiotic beliefs ! Do we really want to make it easier for the terrorists to do business ? CSEC has said they are not monitoring any Canadians in Canada. So does the BCCLA have some evidence to the contrary ?? And the CHARTER only applies to Canadians in Canada. Sounds like somebody is looking for their 15 minutes of fame….again. Isn’t a lawsuit usually because someone has been aggrieved somehow ? So who is the BCCLA representing ?
Only those who do not understand the fundamentals of freedom would condone the Government listening in on private conversations.
They need to obtain a warrant to do this. If they are flouting the law like the Americans, then they need to be corrected.
The BCCLA has the time and money to fight these cases. Individual Canadians don’t have a hope in hell of stopping Government intrusion into their private lives.
Canada is supposed to be a beacon of freedom, not a subverted Country where the Government spies on its citizens., Lets get our priorities straight.
I don’t think spying / collecting Internet and phone data between someone from the United States who communicating with someone from outside the country is the real issue here!
It’s the spying / collection of phone and internet data from solely within America between citizens that is the real concern.
âIt is hereby ordered that [Verizon Business Network Services’] Custodian of Records shall produce to the National Security Agencyâ¦all call detail records or âtelephony metadataâ created by Verizon for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls,â the Guardianâs copy of the order reads. âThis Order does not require Verizon to include telephony metadata for communications wholly originating and terminating in foreign countries.â
Though the classified, top secret order comes from the FBI, it clearly states that the data is to be given to the NSA. That means the leaked document may serve as one of the first concrete pieces of evidence that the NSAâs spying goes beyond foreigners to include Americans, despite its charter specifically disallowing surveillance of those within the United States.”
I think the BCCLA should fly at it! Wouldn’t be surprised at how much Harper and his government have been spying on Canadian residents only, within our country. I think we all remember who he called “enemies of Canada”. I will bet dollars to donuts he has had his spy agency all over First Nations, Environmentalist Agencies, and probably some of the 900 scientists he fired.
Of course, this would have nothing to do with “terrorist activities” unless Harper defines them as “economic terrorists” which he already has! Industrial espionage abroad with Brazil, industrial espionage at home with Canadian citizens seems not to be a stretch. IMO
Seriously, People#1, your unhealthy obsession with Stephen Harper is getting creepy.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee235/PDogzOrg/SmellyTroll.png
But the banksters don’t want to be accountable when they spy on us and any potential rival business interests.
The Brazil story clearly shows that CSEC is used for the benefit of select business interests. The 1% on the in get the ultimate insider trading information at the expense of Joe Pension. They don’t want court or Parliamentary oversight… just complete anonymity and tax payer funded.
A corporatist state requires an unaccountable and ultra secret intelligence unit that can spy on any potential economic rivals.
The Rothschilds rose to massive wealth when they developed their own intelligence service that allowed them to have inside information on the Napoleonic War… trading on the fears they promoted of a British failure at Waterloo allowed them to secure control of the Bank of England and thus the British Empire. The more things change the more they stay the same….
it’s scary that this is happening in Canada, and just as scary that there are people that think it’s no big deal that our government can and is spying on its own citizens. i have nothing to hide either, but when police and CSEC can monitor everything I say to friends, family members, work colleagues, it is a complete invasion of privacy. do you understand that it doesn’t matter if you’ve done anything wrong? they will monitor you if someone you happened to talk to 6 months ago is under suspicion, or the friend of a friend of a friend. for all the commie-haters on this site, don’t you see the parallels between this news and what the soviets were doing since the 1920s?! ‘but this is canada, they’re protecting us from terrorists!’. NO. just like the soviet union, CSEC is looking for dissidents, people that are a threat, not to national security, but to the government in power. i would imagine environmental groups are at the top of CSEC’s monitoring list right now.
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