https://socialistaction.org/2019/08/21/csis-spy-agency-violates-democratic-rights-bccla/
CSIS spy agency violates democratic rights ??? BCCLA
/ 3 days ago
Aug. 2018 NorthernGateway (Canadian Press)
Documents show that CSIS spied on pipeline protesters. (Darryl Dyck /
The Canadian Press)
By GARY PORTER
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) is a heavily
funded spy agency. With a $500 million (CDN) annual budget, it operates
gunslinger-style, spying on Canadians and others it considers a security
risk, gathering information from the dozens of innocent people their
suspects contact, such as friends, relatives, neighbours, and
co-workers. This information is fed into a data analysis program where
CSIS purports to develop an understanding of the lifestyles and
personality profiles of ???targets.???
CSIS collects intelligence information and conducts open and covert
investigations and operations within Canada and abroad. As a measure of
their objectivity, in 2017, several CSIS members accused the
organization of having a racist and homophobic workplace culture.
CSIS collects information illegally, stores it illegally, and shares it
in very questionable ways. CSIS is expressly forbidden by law from
collecting information on peaceful activists involved in legal advocacy,
speech or protest. But CSIS has always done exactly that.
On July 8, CBC reported that the B.C. Civil Liberties Association
(BCCLA) released thousands of heavily redacted documents by the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) concerning allegations the agency
had spied on peaceful protesters of the now-defunct Enbridge Northern
Gateway Pipeline project. The BCCLA has uploaded all the documents to a
searchable website.
The CSIS-disclosed documents had been held under a confidentiality order
(recently expired) by the Security Intelligence Review Committee [SIRC],
Canada???s spy agency watchdog. SIRC is a committee of five federal
government appointees who are legally independent of CSIS, but chosen
from people with security experience and a strong predisposition towards
the CSIS argument that security should trump privacy and democratic rights.
???What we???ve now received is a huge volume of secret evidence that we
didn???t get to see at all before,??? said Paul Champ, a lawyer with Champ
and Associates representing the BCCLA. Champ told CBC???s Early Edition
host Stephen Quinn that the documents show over 500 CSIS reports about
individuals or groups who had been protesting the pipeline proposal.
???[It] raises concerns that this isn???t about national security, but it???s
about protecting the economic interests of Canada???s energy sector and,
in our view, that???s completely beyond CSIS??? mandate,??? he said. The
association further claimed the information was being shared with the
National Energy Board and the petroleum industry.
CSIS also routinely shares information about Canadians with the so
called Five Eyes group???Canada, the United States, Great Britain,
Australia, and New Zealand, a body known in some circles as the
Anglo-Saxon mafia.
The civil liberties association first challenged CSIS??? actions in 2014
with a complaint to SIRC alleging the agency was spying on pipeline
opponents. During private hearings with SIRC, CSIS disclosed the
now-available documents. The complaint was dismissed, however, when the
review committee concluded that information had been gathered on
peaceful protesters only as a by-product of investigations into
legitimate threats, not as the goal. The BCCLA has been working to
overturn the watchdog???s dismissal decision in federal court.
The newly disclosed documents reveal Canada???s spy service routinely
welcomed reports from the energy industry about perceived threats and
kept such information in its files for future reference. The Canadian
Security Intelligence Service is supposed to retain only information
that is ???strictly necessary??? to do its job. The spy agency is now facing
questions about whether it collected and retained material about groups
or people who posed no real threat.
???This is something we don???t expect to experience here in Canada,??? says
Alexandra Woodsworth with Dogwood BC. Especially concerning, she says,
is how the documents suggest CSIS shared their information with fossil
fuel companies.
???Our tax dollars are being used to spy on Canadians to benefit the
fossil fuel industry,??? said Woodsworth. ???A government that appears to be
working more to safeguard the interests of big oil than to safeguard the
interests of its citizens.???
???Spying on people who are participating in public processes???and then
giving that information to the oil industry???is an illegal attack on
democracy.???
The question is: Do workers and oppressed peoples in Canada need an
agency, whose daily work is to spy on opponents of corporate greed,
corruption, pollution, exploitation and oppression? As long as CSIS
exists it will violate our democratic and constitutional rights in
support of capitalism.
Share this:
???Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
???Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
August 21, 2019 in Canada, Civil Liberties.
Related posts
Northern Lights
Why Zionists are in a panic
Obama???s spy methods exposed by Snowden
Post navigation
??? Shifting the balance of power in hotels
French postal workers win 14-month strike ???
Get Involved!
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month August 2019?? (10) July 2019?? (10) June
2019?? (14) May 2019?? (12) April 2019?? (12) March 2019?? (13) February
2019?? (10) January 2019?? (16) December 2018?? (12) November 2018?? (15)
October 2018?? (10) September 2018?? (8) August 2018?? (12) July 2018?? (13)
June 2018?? (11) May 2018?? (19) April 2018?? (15) March 2018?? (17)
February 2018?? (14) January 2018?? (13) December 2017?? (13) November
2017?? (13) October 2017?? (16) September 2017?? (15) August 2017?? (16)
July 2017?? (17) June 2017 (16) May 2017?? (17) April 2017?? (14) March
2017?? (13) February 2017?? (19) January 2017?? (13) December 2016?? (12)
November 2016 (19) October 2016?? (12) September 2016?? (10) August 2016??
(10) July 2016?? (14) June 2016?? (14) May 2016?? (9) April 2016?? (12)
March 2016?? (14) February 2016?? (8) January 2016?? (11) December 2015??
(11) November 2015?? (9) October 2015?? (8) September 2015 (10) August
2015?? (7) July 2015?? (13) June 2015?? (9) May 2015 (10) April 2015?? (12)
March 2015?? (9) February 2015?? (11) January 2015?? (10) December 2014??
(12) November 2014?? (11) October 2014 (9) September 2014?? (6) August
2014?? (10) July 2014?? (11) June 2014?? (10) May 2014?? (11) April 2014??
(10) March 2014?? (9) February 2014?? (11) January 2014?? (11) December
2013?? (10) November 2013?? (11) October 2013?? (17) September 2013?? (13)
August 2013?? (10) July 2013?? (11) June 2013?? (15) May 2013?? (14) April
2013?? (14) March 2013?? (12) February 2013?? (10) January 2013?? (17)
December 2012?? (7) November 2012?? (8) October 2012?? (19) September 2012??
(2) August 2012?? (27) July 2012?? (18) June 2012?? (3) May 2012?? (19)
April 2012?? (14) March 2012?? (17) February 2012?? (19) January 2012?? (17)
December 2011?? (3) November 2011?? (33) October 2011?? (14) September
2011?? (13) August 2011?? (34) July 2011?? (24) June 2011?? (19) May 2011??
(19) April 2011?? (15) March 2011?? (15) February 2011?? (15) January 2011??
(15) December 2010?? (17) November 2010?? (1) October 2010?? (6) September
2010?? (3) August 2010?? (8) July 2010?? (7) June 2010?? (2) May 2010?? (10)
April 2010 (3) March 2010?? (8) February 2010?? (3) January 2010?? (9)
December 2009?? (6) November 2009?? (5) October 2009?? (16) September 2009
(3) August 2009?? (2) July 2009?? (5) June 2009?? (2) May 2009?? (7) April
2009?? (6) March 2009?? (16) February 2009?? (9) January 2009 (10) December
2008?? (11) November 2008?? (8) October 2008?? (16) September 2008?? (14)
August 2008?? (18) July 2008?? (12) June 2008 (3) May 2008?? (2) April
2008?? (3) March 2008?? (14) February 2008 (11) January 2008?? (11)
December 2007?? (8) November 2007?? (1) July 2007?? (1) June 2007?? (1)
April 2007?? (1) March 2007?? (1) February 2007?? (3) December 2006?? (11)
November 2006?? (11) October 2006 (13) September 2006?? (15) August 2006??
(11) July 2006?? (18) June 2006?? (7) May 2006?? (14) April 2006?? (6) March
2006?? (14) February 2006?? (5) January 2006?? (2) December 2005?? (9)
November 2005?? (8) October 2005?? (13) September 2005?? (12) August 2005??
(9) July 2005?? (16) June 2005?? (16) May 2005?? (16) April 2005?? (12)
March 2005?? (14) February 2005?? (19) January 2005?? (15) December 2004
(14) November 2002?? (17) October 2002?? (19) September 2002?? (22) August
2002?? (21) July 2002?? (15) May 2002?? (21) April 2002?? (21) February
2002?? (15) January 2002?? (15) December 2001?? (17) October 2001?? (24)
September 2001?? (18) July 2001?? (19) June 2001?? (18) October 2000?? (17)
September 2000?? (21) August 2000?? (19) July 2000?? (16) June 2000?? (26)
May 2000?? (21) April 2000?? (22) March 2000?? (28) February 2000?? (18)
January 2000?? (20) December 1999 (20) November 1999?? (26) October 1999??
(25) September 1999?? (18) August 1999?? (40) July 1999?? (38) June 1999??
(24) May 1999?? (27) April 1999?? (25) March 1999?? (26) February 1999??
(29) January 1999?? (24) July 1998?? (12)
Search
???View socialistactionusa???s profile on Facebook
???View SocialistActUS???s profile on Twitter
???View SocialistActionCT???s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
No upcoming events
Category Cloud
Actions & Protest Africa Anti-War Arts & Culture Black Liberation Canada
Caribbean Civil Liberties Cuba East Asia Economy Education & Schools
Elections Environment Europe Immigration Indigenous Rights International
Labor Latin America Marxist Theory & History Middle East Palestine
Police & FBI Prisons South Asia Trump / U.S. Government Uncategorized
Vote Socialist Action Women's Liberation
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
Follow
--
---
George Carlin
??? Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe,
and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they
have to touch it to be sure. ???
??? George Carlin