There is a lingering fear that Canadian personal information is at risk and not properly protected, according to a report last week on Canada’s CBC network. CBC announced the position of Canada in the intelligence and surveillance fields, saying that sharing some communications with key allies – including the United States – is a concern that has warranted a halt in some key aspects of this process.
“Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan says the sharing [of some information] won’t resume until he is satisfied that the proper protections are in place,” the CBC network reported.
An annual report tabled in the House of Commons late January disclosed the issues surrounding the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s electronic spy agency. The most alarming matter surrounding metadata and how it was not being “minimized.”
“Minimization is the process by which Canadian identity information contained in metadata is rendered unidentifiable prior to being shared ….” CSE commissioner Jean Pierre Plouffe explained. “The fact that CSE did not properly minimize Canadian identity information contained in certain metadata prior to being shared was contrary to the ministerial directive, and to CSE’s operational policy.”
The more alarming nature of the breach suggests the other countries within the five eyes alliance; the U.S., the U.K, New Zealand and Australia may not have been sheltering the Canadain telephone data in the manner they should. A leaked email obtained suggested that the NSA had obtained emails, chat logs, data linked to telephone calls and Internet data after the then Defence Minister Rob Nicholson gave authorization.
The CSE has admitted that domestic data does get swept up with other intelligence communications being monitored, acknowledging the concern by placing a temporary freeze over information sharing with the United States. This decision comes at a time when the U.S. is trying to renegotiate new data-sharing strategies with the EU, who don’t hold American agencies such as the NSA in high regard.
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