Canadian Government OK's NSA's espionage @ G20

[Atomoa]

Top secret documents retrieved by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden show that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government allowed the largest American spy agency to conduct widespread surveillance in Canada during the 2010 G8 and G20 summits.

The secret NSA documents list all the main agenda items for the G20 in Toronto — international development, banking reform, countering trade protectionism, and so on — with the U.S. snooping agency promising to support "U.S. policy goals."

That espionage was conducted to secure meeting sites and protect leaders against terrorist threats posed by al-Qaeda but also to forward the policy goals of the United States and Canada.

Whatever the intelligence goals of the NSA during the Toronto summit, international security experts question whether the NSA spying operation at the G20 in Toronto was even legal.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-sno ... -1.2442448

Not only the biggest civil rights violation in Canadian history, but now the government has been caught letting the NSA come to Toronto and conduct political espionage.

[Rwede]

Good work by the NSA to help ensure a safe, terrorist-free venue for the world leaders to discuss issues of concern and mutual benefit for the G20. I'm glad such agencies exist to counter the lunatic fringe of society from threatening our way of life.

[WhenWhatWho]

Good work by the NSA to help ensure a safe, terrorist-free venue for the world leaders to discuss issues of concern and mutual benefit for the G20. I'm glad such agencies exist to counter the lunatic fringe of society from threatening our way of life.

Not to mention the tax dollars the Canadian Government saved by letting the Yanks do it.

[Rwede]

Not to mention the tax dollars the Canadian Government saved by letting the Yanks do it.

10/10. I'll take free Yankee cops any day of the week.

[c2c]

“By law, CSEC cannot target anyone in Canada without a warrant, including world leaders and foreign diplomats at a G20 summit.
But, the Canadian eavesdropping agency is also prohibited by international agreement from getting the NSA to do the spying or anything that would be illegal for CSEC.”

What happened to the Harper government’s law and order agenda? And, what happens when CSEC breaks the law? Who has the authority to pursue CSEC?

[JLives]

It's only illegal for poor people to break the law. If you are part of government or a corporation you get a pass.

This is unacceptable and Canadians should be appalled. Are we a sovereign nation or not? This terrorism facade has stripped our rights away and is severely damaging our relationships with other countries. How many heads of state were bugged at the conference?

[WhenWhatWho]

It's only illegal for poor people to break the law. If you are part of government or a corporation you get a pass.
This is unacceptable and Canadians should be appalled. Are we a sovereign nation or not? This terrorism facade has stripped our rights away and is severely damaging our relationships with other countries. How many heads of state were bugged at the conference?

Really? What an silly thing to say.

[Atomoa]

Good work by the NSA to help ensure a safe, terrorist-free venue for the world leaders to discuss issues of concern and mutual benefit for the G20. I'm glad such agencies exist to counter the lunatic fringe of society from threatening our way of life.

The NSA was there to spy on our allies and commit political espionage, illegally. The NSA doesn't do security details. They spy on people, mainly their own citizens.

Al-Qaeda posed no threat, as per the NSA and the documents.

The NSA disagrees with your misguided patriotism.

"The intelligence community assesses there is no specific, credible information that al-Qa'ida or other Islamic extremists are targeting"

Read before the knee jerk.

[Atomoa]

Not to mention the tax dollars the Canadian Government saved by letting the Yanks do it.

Actually, the G20 was the most expensive security detail in Canadian history and it looks like the reason it "had" to be held downtown Toronto (a security nightmare by all experts asked) instead of in the country where it originally was slated to happen was the NSA couldn't bug phones and hotel rooms with ease in the sticks. Harder to conduct their operations without a huge population center to blend into.

Your taxdollars OVERpaid for the NSA to come up here and use our facilities to commit illegal acts, with permission from the Canadian government.

You're happy that we let the "yanks" pay to illegally spy on our own friends in order for the USA to further their agenda, in our country, so long as we benefited from the crimes?

We let them use our buildings and infrastructure, you paid for it with your tax dollars. No savings - it cost you more.

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[logicalview]

LOL. When I heard this story on the news I had two thoughts - bully on the Canadian government for letting the NSA track down the protesting scumbags, and also that there would be *personal attack removed*/ferri
that would be full of righteous indignation, and would post all kinds of italicized nonsense about it. I was right on both counts.

[logicalview]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[erinmore3775]

In actuality, Canada during this exercise, was carrying on a long tradition of being an accessory for a foreign power and spying on an ally. During the second world war, powerful listening posts were set up in Prince Edward County in Ontario, at the behest of the British government to "spy" on American wireless diplomatic transmissions. This was before America entered the war.

The "spying" that went on during the G8 and the G20 was illegal "diplomatic" spying carried out by the NSA in conjunction with and with help from CSEC. Spying carried out by the RCMP and CSIS against "terrorists" and protesters, seems to have been mostly legal. It was designed for "protection from terrorist activities" and the protection of visiting diplomats. It was not designed to spy on diplomats and government dignitaries who were/are allies.

While Canada's complicity in this type of espionage may carry on a tradition there is one clear, and major difference. In 1939 & 40 this was legal. In 2010 and still today it is not. While this may not bother some people it certainly does bother me. I fail to understand how listening in on the phone calls of the British, French, and German delegations and intercepting the diplomatic communications of all participants makes Canada or even North America a safer place.

[maryjane48]

it doesnt make anyone safer, this is a joke and one more reason harper needs to go.any ww1 and ww2 vet would have to feel they saved everyone from hitler just to be replaced by the american and now the cons in canada. people that defend this garbage are traitors in my mind

[Ranger66]

“that would be full of righteous indignation, and would post all kinds of italicized nonsense about it”

You seem to imply that a government is above the law and I cannot agree to that. I fully support the tracking down of “ the lunatic fringe of society” but we need to follow the law to do it or we will become what we fear most.

[logicalview]

it doesnt make anyone safer, this is a joke and one more reason harper needs to go.any ww1 and ww2 vet would have to feel they saved everyone from hitler just to be replaced by the american and now the cons in canada. people that defend this garbage are traitors in my mind

LOL - traitors eh?