The defence minister’s reasons for allowing Canada’s foreign signals intelligence agency to perform otherwise illegal activities were sometimes “insufficient,” according to the new intelligence commissioner in a first-of-its-kind report.
Jean-Pierre Plouffe, the man who helps review the activities of Canada’s two spy agencies, said the linkages used by the minister to justify his conclusions were sometimes lacking, although in the end the commissioner ultimately gave spying requests the green light.
While many of the details about what clandestine activities actually involved are omitted from the report, it offers a glimpse into the back-and-fourth in deciding when Canada’s cyber spies can intercept private communications.
“In some instances, the [information commissioner] determined that the ministerial conclusions were insufficient or non-existent,” reads the report, tabled in the House of Commons this week.
The position of intelligence commissioner is relatively new to Canada and was created to offer an independent, quasi-judicial review of the justification used to clear intelligence agencies’ of otherwise illegal activity.
The position was born out of the Liberal’s national security overhaul legislation in 2019. The first report looked at a small window: just nine authorization requests from Aug. 1, 2019 to the end of that year.
Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan is seen during a news conference on May 7, 2020 in Ottawa. The intelligence commissioner reviews the conclusions on why the defence minister issues authorization to spy on selected targets. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
The Communications Security Establishment’s mandate allows it to collect signals intelligence on foreign targets — including information about the “capabilities, intentions or activities” of actors — but they can’t spy on Canadians or contravene the Charter.
Due to the line of work, the agency sometimes performs acts that would otherwise break the law. The agency then needs a “foreign intelligence authorization” from the minister, in this case Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, before moving ahead.
Those activities are typically “offences in the Criminal Code, such as the interception of private communications, or the conduct of certain activities necessary to enable the acquisition of information for providing foreign intelligence or to keep an activity covert,” notes the report, a first of its kind for the new office.
With a special authorization in hand, CSE can then, despite Canadian law or laws of any foreign states, carry out “any activity specified in the authorization to further its foreign intelligence mandate.”
The intelligence commissioner, a retired superior court judge, is responsible for reviewing the reasons behind why the defence minister issued this kind of special authorization.
Plouffe’s report found that while all of the minister’s authorizations for CSE’s activities, five during the short time period, were reasonable, there were issues in the applications.
“The intelligence commissioner found some inconsistencies in the application records for foreign intelligence authorizations. Notably, the minister’s conclusions did not address certain authorized activities and some authorized activities were not supported by facts in the chief of CSE’s written application,” it reads.
“In addition, a condition imposed by the minister in one of the authorizations was neither addressed in his conclusions nor rationalized elsewhere in the application record.”
The 23-page report did not include details of the activities or what the intelligence commissioner felt was missing from the original applications.
CSE says process ‘rigorous’
CSE also has the authority to launch certain cybersecurity activities to help protect the government’s electronic information and infrastructure from cyber threats. It offers similar protections to critical infrastructure including, energy, finance, and information and communications technology.
If while defending that infrastructure from disruption the agency feels that it needs to intercept private communications, it requires a special cybersecurity authorization.
Plouffe found two inconsistencies in the application records for that special approval.
“Notably, an activity was not explicitly addressed in the minister’s conclusions despite being described in the chief of CSE’s application,” it reads.
“Further, a condition imposed by the minister in his authorization was neither explained in his conclusions nor supported by information found in the application record.”
It then fell to Plouffe to review the evidence to supplement the authorization.
Intelligence Commissioner Jean-Pierre Plouffe previously served as a superior court judge and as the watchdog for CSE. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Sajjan said the CSE will take the commissioner’s comments into account for future ministerial authorization.
“We will continue to work with the intelligence commissioner to ensure that CSE continues to live up to the high expectations that all Canadians expect,” he said in a statement.
“The work that he does provides transparency and is an important part of the oversight of the robust system of checks and balances that our government has put in to place.”
A spokesperson for CSE said the agency has already addressed the commissioner’s comments.
“It was noted that there were some opportunities in the future for additional information to be included to supplement the minister’s conclusions. In each case, the IC recognized the minister’s expertise in authorizing these activities and approved all five authorizations without amendment,” said Evan Koronewski.
“The process of drafting ministerial authorizations is rigorous. This process involves extensive consultations with key stakeholders across CSE, including operational areas, compliance, and legal services to ensure that all activities and classes of activities are described accurately and in sufficient detail.”
Commissioner also looked at CSIS
The review also looked at the datasets — electronic archives of information — the Canadian Security Intelligence Service can maintain.
CSIS has the authority to “collect, by investigation or otherwise,” analyze and retain information regarding activities that could pose a threat to national security.
The commissioner reviewed four authorizations and found two were reasonable.
In one case, he determined that the minister’s decision to authorize certain unlawful conduct by CSIS to carry out its intelligence collection mandate was unreasonable. In another case, he only partially approved the conduct. In those two cases, CSIS will have to resubmit its paperwork to the commissioner.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the intelligence commissioner’s recommendations have been given “careful consideration.”
‘The dataset and justification frameworks provide comprehensive authorities to balance the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s operational needs with its obligation to protect the private information of Canadians,” said Mary-Liz Power.
“The results of this report … represent additional layers of accountability and protection for Canadians and their information.”
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The family of a Guatemalan journalist on Saturday celebrated his transfer to house arrest following his jailing for more than two years amid his daily newspaper’s anti-corruption investigations.
José Rubén Zamora founded El Periódico, which specialized in anti-corruption reporting and closed a year ago.
“At last, he can defend himself as he always should have, free from a baseless and abusive process,” his son José Carlos Zamora said in a statement. “We are delighted by this long-awaited moment and deeply grateful for the support and solidarity that sustained us.
There is still a long road ahead, but this marks a victory for my father, our family, and freedom of the press in Guatemala.”
Judge Erick García Alvarado ruled that Zamora should be released because his preventive arrest in one of the cases had already expired.
Zamora, 68, had been imprisoned since July 2022, when he was charged with money laundering, amounting to around $38,000, and in June 2023 he was sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of errors in the process, but he’s waiting to see if he will be granted a retrial.
International organizations had been calling for Friday’s hearing to take place so the journalist could be freed from imprisonment. Many of them said that Zamora had been jailed because of his investigations into those in power.
Zamora has said previously that he was exposed to psychological torture during his imprisonment, spending long hours without daylight, isolation and being awakened several times a night by guards.
The Guatemalan journalist told reporters after his release that he’s both happy and calm after the decision, but that he would go to a hospital to regain his health.
“As for the prosecutor (Rafael Curruchiche, who heads the prosecutor’s office that accuses him), the attorney general would do well to open a scholarship fund to send them to study law again,” Zamora said.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, who took office earlier this year, celebrated the journalist’s release from prison.
“Zamora returns home. Justice is beginning to arrive, the dark cycle is going to end,” Arévalo posted on X.
Eight journalists and columnists from El Periódico, which was founded in 1996, have left the country since Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office started investigating them.
Zamora was initially convicted and sentenced to six years in jail over the first charges against him and was imprisoned in July 2022. The decision was later overruled, but he didn’t leave jail because of another case against him.
Curruchiche told reporters that he hopes Zamora will face justice now that he is free.
LEXINGTON, Miss. (AP) — Three people were killed and eight others were injured in central Mississippi early Saturday when at least two people opened fire into a group of several hundred people who were celebrating a school’s homecoming football win at an outdoor trail several hours after the game had ended, authorities said.
The gunfire was proceeded by a fight between some of the men at the celebration, but deputies hadn’t yet learned what sparked the fight, said Holmes County Sheriff Willie March.
Anywhere from 200 to 300 people were on the trail celebrating, and the gunfire sent them fleeing, the sheriff said in a phone interview.
“It was chaos, to tell you the truth,” March said. “The shooting just started and people started running.”
The shootings about five miles (3 kilometers) outside of Lexington, Mississippi, followed a football game several hours earlier at the Holmes County Consolidated School’s homecoming celebration. After the victory, scores of young people headed to the trail to celebrate.
Lexington is located more than 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Jackson.
Two of the victims who died were 19 and the third was 25. The injured victims were airlifted to local hospitals.
Deputies were collecting ammunition at the scene in an effort to determine how many weapons were fired, March said.
Shootings by young men have been an “off and on” problem recently in the county, which has a population of almost 16,000 residents. The young men who talk to the sheriff tell him that it’s often because they have a “beef,” or disagreement with someone.
“It’s hard to see what they are fighting over. I don’t think they are fighting over turf or drugs,” March said. “These are young men walking around with weapons. I wish I had an answer.”
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A video purporting to show dozens of North Korean recruits lining up to collect Russian military fatigues has been released by Ukrainian officials, who say it shows the introduction of troops sent by Pyongyang into the conflict.
The video, published by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, which operates under the Culture and Information Ministry, allegedly shows North Korean soldiers standing in line to pick up bags, clothes and other apparel from Russian servicemen. The Associated Press couldn’t verify the video independently.
“We received this video from our own sources. We cannot provide additional verification from the sources who provided it to us due to security concerns,” said Ihor Solovey, the head of the center.
“The video clearly shows North Korean citizens being given Russian uniforms under the direction of the Russian military,” he said. “For Ukraine, this video is important because it is the first video evidence that shows North Korea participating in the war on the side of Russia. Now not only with weapons and shells but also with personnel.”
The center claims the footage was shot by a Russian soldier in recent days. It didn’t say how the footage was obtained. The location is unknown.
It comes after the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed in local media that about 11,000 North Korean infantrymen were currently training in eastern Russia. He predicted they would be ready to join fighting by November. At least 2,600 would be sent to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August, he was quoted as saying.
“The emergence of any number of new soldiers is a problem because we will simply need new, additional weapons to destroy them all,” Solovey told AP. “The dissemination of this video is important as a signal to the world community that with two countries officially at war against Ukraine, we will need more support to repel this aggression.”
The presence of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, if true, would be further proof of intensified military ties between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Last summer, they signed a strategic partnership treaty that commits both countries to provide military assistance. North Korean weapons have already been used in the Ukraine war.
