Hi all,

I'd like to thank everyone's awesome efforts with the conference! I will start my thread in the following Tweet. #5EyesCIPS

Former Cdn PM Pierre Trudeau once said: “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” In spite of this, meddling in the affairs of others with personal interests in mind has been increasingly rampant in foreign policy, esp. among Western countries. #5EyesCIPS

Overthrowing governments has been a common way of interfering. We’ve seen this on numerous occasions in the all over the world, especially those countries on the verge of a transition towards Communism.
http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/w/winter/Winters.nsf/0/53e4fa2c963249ad852571f00062afb5/$FILE/Blum_Brief_History.pdf #5EyesCIPS

3 - Nowadays, with the rise of the internet and information being far more accessible, the dark world of digital monitoring is becoming the norm. On one hand, it poses a threat to the free circulation of information. #5EyesCIPS

4 - On the other hand, countries like the U.S & Can who pride themselves in living in a completely free society can no longer claim that such is a reality. Whistleblowers denouncing classified surveillance operations have been under heavy scrutiny. #5EyesCIPS

5 - The question that has yet to be answered is the legitimacy of these surveillance operations. Especially considering Canada’s privacy laws and that of the international community. Where do we stand on this matter? #5EyesCIPS

6 - In Canada, our intelligence agencies comprise primarily of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). The CSE is mainly responsible for collecting data that comes from overseas.

7 - To highlight the increasing importance of intelligence collection, the CSE has doubled in staff since 2001 to about 2500. This of course, was after the 9/11 attacks and the adoption of the Anti-Terrorism Act. #5EyesCIPS

8 - Canada has largely been silent on the matter, in light of not having a National Surveillance Agency that is renown for its activities. But as a FVEY member, Canada does contribute to the distribution of classified information. #5EyesCIPS

9 - For instance, the CSE participated in the Stateroom surveillance program that collected digital communications from around the globe. This was made public following Edward Snowden’s revelations to the Guardian in 2013. #5EyesCIPS https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/nsa-gave-canada-at-least-300000-to-develop-spy-program/article18634491/

10 - Another factor to consider is the extent of the use of this data. The CSE has stated that it keeps records of private communications if they are essential to intelligence, along with identifying or preventing harm to Canada and/or its networks. #5EyesCIPS

11 - Last year, Canada passed bill C-59 in order to provide some oversight to the information collected by the aforementioned agencies, in order to prevent the illicit distribution of Canadian’s private information. #5EyesCIPS https://parl.ca/DocumentViewer/fr/42-1/projet-loi/C-59/sanction-royal

12 - The bill does not go towards exposing any information that was collected and shared prior to the passing of the bill, which leaves room to question what had been done, given the secret nature of this information. #5EyesCIPS

13 - Canada as a FVEY member shoulders a lot of responsibility, and having the U.S as its only neighbor and largest trading partner poses a dilemma. But in order to live up to Pierre Trudeau’s promise, additional transparency will be required. #5EyesCIPS

14/14 - Finalement, est-ce que le Canada veut vraiment s’impliquer dans des affaires tels que Cryptoleaks, où des défauts ont été introduit dans les appareils de chiffrement vendu à travers le monde; simplement pour apaiser ses partenaires? #5EyesCIPS