Dev.SN

Canada Spy Agency Planned for Native Protests

posted by janrinok on Monday March 24 2014, @11:16AM   
from the they-don't-want-you-to-have-a-voice dept.

Appalbarry writes:

"The National Post reports that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was involved in planning a response to First Nations "Idle No More" protests.

The legible parts of the report and corresponding PowerPoint presentation, however, show that Ottawa, helped in no small part by CSIS, was planning for every eventuality, concerned by the decentralized, leaderless nature of the protests and the multiple motivations and influences that drove them.

CSIS had previously denied it had any role in monitoring the movement. After reports last summer that the spy agency and its anti-terrorism section had been keeping a watchful eye, the agency said it was only assessing threats against the Idle No More protesters.

Idle No More was a pacifist, grassroots campaign by native organizations to press the government to address their issues. Despite government and CSIS claims to the contrary it was assumed that they were under surveillance.

Canada has a long history of secret surveillance of protest and left wing groups."

• the only safe assumption the only safe assumption (Score: 2, Insightful) by Dale on Monday March 24 2014, @12:02PM

  by Dale (539) on Monday March 24 2014, @12:02PM (#20299)

  The only safe assumption at this point is that everything we do is monitored and known. Governments have always had their hands in groups that are unhappy or "subversive" in their minds. Before they had to physically send people to do it. Now they can just scoop up most of the information automatically and process it as they see fit. It doesn't make it right, but any group wanting to protest or have activities have to account for the point that everything they do is known to some government entity.

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• Re:the only safe assumption (Score: 2) by davester666 on Monday March 24 2014, @01:29PM

  by davester666 (155) on Monday March 24 2014, @01:29PM (#20357)

  yes, and any group that were to try to avoid being monitored in this way, by using end-to-end encryption or something else, automatically makes them MORE suspicious, enabling CSIS and the RCMP do basically do whatever they want to be able to access your communications.

  It's the basic "well, you refusing to give me permission to search your car gives me probable cause to search your car."

  Parent