CSIS purging years of communications data collected on Canadians

COLIN FREEZE

PUBLISHED JUNE 19, 2018

UPDATED JUNE 19, 2018

Canada’s spy service is destroying undisclosed volumes of records relating to the communications of Canadians gathered over years.

This purge of a pool of data inside the Canadian Security Intelligence Service began a few months ago. “Approximately 70 per cent of the data has been destroyed and the remainder is expected to be destroyed in the coming months,” wrote CSIS spokeswoman Tahera Mufti, responding to questions from The Globe.

At issue was communications “metadata” – such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses – that had been indefinitely warehoused by CSIS starting in 2006. Intelligence analysts had input data into their systems about people who were initially seen to be in proximity to terrorism targets, but who ended up not themselves being considered threats.

“CSIS has taken a decision to destroy the data deemed to have been illegally retained. These destruction activities are imminent,” read Mr. Vigneault’s briefing notes from last November.

These briefing materials, released under Access to Information laws, explicitly state that CSIS now needs to gather certain kinds of data in “bulk” if the agency wants to keep up with what its closest allies elsewhere are doing.

“The acquisition of large volumes of information for analysis is a technique employed by intelligence agencies across the globe, and is an indispensable tool in support of modern national security investigations,” these materials say.

In his 2016 ruling, Justice Noël wrote that such growing capabilities will need to be closely monitored by courts and watchdog agencies.

“The end product is intelligence which reveals specific, intimate details on the life and environment of the persons the CSIS investigates,” his ruling says, adding that such techniques are “capable of drawing links between various sources and enormous amounts of data that no human being would be capable of.”

Prior to ordering the metadata destroyed, CSIS had worked “to quickly ‘fence’ the errant data to keep it from being used for intelligence-analysis purposes,” said Ms. Mufti, the agency’s spokeswoman.

Michael Coulombe spends 30 years at CSIS retires in June 2017. One year later new director David Vigneault decides its time to purge 70% of meta data collected on Canadians. Same month Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein Delivers Remarks at the International Economic Forum of the Americas Conference of Montreal

Montreal,Canada ~ Monday, June 11, 2018

Coincidence? I dont think so