OTTAWA – The Harper government has quietly given Canada’s electronic eavesdropping agency approval to exchange information with foreign partners even when it may put someone at risk of torture.
Ryan Foreman, a spokesman for Communications Security Establishment Canada, says the spy service is following a federal policy on the risks of ill-treatment when sharing information.
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The policy is intended to guide security agencies when seeking or sharing information puts someone in foreign custody at serious risk of being tortured.
Records released through the access-to-information law have shown that several agencies – including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, RCMP and federal border organization – were directed to follow the policy.
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However, until now there was no explicit confirmation that the policy applied to the Ottawa-based eavesdropping agency, known as CSEC.
The revelation comes amid mounting concern about widespread surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, CSEC’s American counterpart in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
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