Canada’s spy agency may have illegally targeted Canadians: watchdog

Lee Berthiaume & Jason Fekete, Postmedia News 
OTTAWA — Canada’s super-secret electronic spy agency may have illegally targeted Canadians over the past year, a government watchdog has concluded.

The findings, contained in a report tabled by retired judge Robert Decary in Parliament Wednesday, are particularly explosive now given revelations prompted by whistleblower Edward Snowden about the U.S. government conducting widespread snooping of its citizens.

Decary, who has served as independent watchdog for the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) since 2010, said he discovered the potentially illicit spying during a routine review of the electronic surveillance agency’s activities over the past year.

“A small number of records suggested the possibility that some activities may have been directed at Canadians, contrary to the law,” Decary wrote in his report.

But Decary said he was unable to determine conclusively whether the snooping was legal or not because “a number of CSEC records relating to these activities were unclear or incomplete.”

“After [an] in-depth and lengthy review, I was unable to reach a definitive conclusion about compliance or non-compliance with the law.”

CSEC is forbidden from spying on Canadians no matter where they are in the world. It is also prohibited from eavesdropping on individuals within Canada.

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