The man who oversees cybersecurity for the federal government says Canadians should be wary of apps that could leave their data in the “wrong hands” — a warning that comes as the wildly popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok faces claims that it has spied on its users.
Sami Khoury, head of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, said users need to be aware of what they’re agreeing to when they download an app, and should ask whether it enables access to their personal data.
“You have to ask yourself the question, do they need to access that information? Why does an application need to access all of my contact list? Why does it need to access my calendar, my email, my phone records, my [texts]?” he told CBC News.
“You layer on top of that the risk of connecting my 200 [contacts] with your 200 and then you have an aggregate … of information. In some cases, it lands in places that don’t live by the same principles of rule of law [and] respect for human rights.”
TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China, has been accused of aggressive data harvesting. The European Union’s data watchdog is investigating what it has called “transfers by TikTok of personal data to China”.
The CSE said Canadians with commercially sensitive information on their devices should be especially cautious when granting access to their devices.
“Some platforms are responsible platforms where you potentially don’t have to worry about the data falling into the hands of a nation state. But other platforms are too close to that line,” Khoury said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month the CSE was keeping an eye on TikTok.
“I think people are concerned about TikTok. I think people are obviously watching very carefully,” he said. “The … CSE is one of the best cybersecurity agencies in the world and they’re watching very carefully.”
So far, CSE hasn’t issued an advisory against using TikTok — which claims a billion visits per month. Instead, it offers general advice to Canadians about social media.
Khoury said the CSE is now updating that guidance.
TikTok denies sharing data with China
The U.S. already has banned federal employees from using the app on government-issued devices, citing national security concerns. A growing number of universities in the U.S. have also banned the social media platform on school-owned devices and networks.
Late last year, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill to ban TikTok in the United States entirely.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has proposed an outright ban on TikTok. (Drew Angerer/Reuters)
Evan Koronewski, a spokesperson for CSE, said it’s closely watching what the U.S. and other allies are doing.
“We continue to monitor the situation and inform the government of Canada on the most relevant and applicable cyber security advice and guidance,” he said.
“This includes working together with our federal partners at the Treasury Board Secretariat and Shared Services Canada to ensure government information systems and networks remain secure and protected.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for TikTok insisted the Chinese Communist Party has no control over ByteDance, that it has never provided Canadian users’ data to the Chinese government and that it would not do so if asked.
“We continue to have a constructive relationship with the Canadian government, and engage across departments to demonstrate how we protect the security and privacy of Canadian users, and to respond to any questions that officials may have,” said the spokesperson.
When asked if they’d recommend their family members download TikTok, Khoury and Rajiv Gupta, associate head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, urged caution.
“I turn off everything in any of the apps I use, because that’s my personality,” said Gupta.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
