Archives for October 2013

OTTAWA — The chief of Communications Security Establishment Canada, the agency behind alleged industrial espionage against Brazil, insists all of its activities are legal, as details emerged Wednesday that CSEC had participated in private meetings between Canadian security agencies and energy companies.

Canadian Energy corporations acknowledged Wednesday they do, indeed, meet with security officials from CSEC and other departments, but said these are only to identify security threats and find ways to develop counter-measures to protect their operations.

Citing documents obtained under access to information laws, The Guardian newspaper in London reports federal government ministries, spy agencies — including CSEC — the RCMP and representatives from several energy companies, who were granted high-level security clearance, have met twice a year since 2005.

The federal meetings with energy industry officials were to discuss “threats” to energy infrastructure and “challenges to energy projects from environmental groups,” as well as “cyber-security initiatives and “economic and corporate espionage.”

The heavily redacted documents do not indicate that any international spying intelligence was shared by CSEC officials at the “off the record” meetings, according to the newspaper.

The most recent meeting of officials was in May 2013 to discuss “security of energy resources development.” The meeting included meals sponsored by Canadian pipeline company Enbridge, The Guardian reports.

CSEC chief John Forster, speaking Wednesday at a government technology conference in Ottawa, said “everything (CSEC) does in terms of its foreign intelligence mandate follows Canadian law,” and that it does not target Canadians at home or abroad.

Earlier this week, Brazil’s Globo Television — based on documents leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden — said CSEC targeted the metadata of phone calls and emails to and from the Brazilian ministry of mines and energy.

Metadata is information that can identify whom individuals are contacting, when and from where, in an effort to discover patterns of communication, but does not include the content of those communications.

The report infuriated the Brazilian government, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he is “very concerned” about it.

Forster acknowledged Canadian security agencies meet with the Canadian private sector on cyber-security trends and help protect what the government deems critical infrastructure.

CSEC has its own cyber-threat evaluation centre, which then shares information with government departments such as Public Safety Canada. That information is shared with the private sector to protect critical infrastructure, he said.

Forster said CSEC, which collects signals intelligence from phone calls and emails, leverages information from the “Five Eyes” partnership of intelligence agencies from Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The agency also works with industry to make communications networks more secure for when they are considered for government use, he added.

“We actively share information on evolving cyber-threats and tap into that vast pool of knowledge and then help make it available to you,” he said.

Officials from the energy and utilities industry meet fairly regularly with federal agencies and departments to discuss cyber-security and critical infrastructure such as pipelines.

A spokesman for Enbridge said the company and others in the energy and utilities sector, at the request of Natural Resources Canada, typically pay for a portion of receptions, meals and coffee breaks associated with security briefings provided to industry officials.

The latest meeting this year was on May 23 at Canadian Security Intelligence Service headquarters in Ottawa, although Enbridge officials were unable to attend.

“The purpose of the briefings is to provide a timely and relevant summary of current security issues that may have an impact on Canada’s critical infrastructure,” said Enbridge spokesman Graham White.

“The information discussed is intended to make the energy and utilities industries aware of potential security threats and enable industry to make informed decisions regarding the implementation of appropriate security threat mitigation countermeasures, in an effort to protect critical Canadian energy and utility operations.”

The Prime Minister’s Office directed media calls on Wednesday to Public Safety Canada, which said federal security agencies began meeting with Canadian companies following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“We do not comment on operational matters of national security. However, it is standard practice for security agencies to discuss issues with Canadian industry in order to protect lives and sensitive infrastructure from terrorism and other threats,” Public Safety spokesman Jean Paul Duval said in an email.

Along with its role as one of Canada’s spy agencies, CSEC is responsible for protecting government information systems from cyber-threats.

Speaking about the Brazilian reports, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said “the evidence is quite clear” that CSEC is complicit in industrial espionage.

“It’s totally unacceptable,” Mulcair told reporters Wednesday. “We’re talking about the type of behaviour that we reproach other countries, often countries that have no rule of law.”

Canada’s auditor general, in his fall 2012 report, highlighted how federal departments lost track of $980 million in approved spending that was meant for cyber-security over the previous decade.  Also, there were not any benchmarks to determine whether the money spent was having its intended effect.

A section of the auditor general’s chapter on cyber-security was on “partnering to protect critical infrastructure,” and explains how federal departments and agencies work with the private sector to protect operations from cyber-threats.

“Significant numbers of stakeholders are involved. Federal government departments, provinces, territories, the private sector and international partners all need to agree on how to protect Canada’s critical infrastructure,” the report noted.

“We found that the energy and utilities sector network, managed through Natural Resources Canada, meets regularly and has active participation from all stakeholders.”

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An Alberta judge has certified to go forward a $10-million nationwide class-action lawsuit against the Alberta meat packer at the centre of a massive beef recall after a 2012 E. coli outbreak.

Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice John Rooke certified the class action in a hearing that concluded Tuesday. The decision means those who are suing the company can do so as a group instead of bringing individual cases to court.

Class counsel Rick Mallett said the action has more than 200 plaintiffs from across Canada and expects that number to rise.

“As more Canadians become aware that the class action is certified, more will come forward,” Mallett said outside court. “It’s difficult for an individual to go up against a corporate entity.”

Soon, public notifications and calls for more plaintiffs will appear in media across Canada.

The class action will include those who believe XL Foods owes them a refund for tainted meat and those who were made ill and seek financial compensation. Individual financial claims haven’t yet been determined.

“We’re still working on determining the appropriate levels of compensation,” Mallett said.

Mallett doesn’t expect the suit to reach the final stage in court until 2015.

The class-action suit will proceed with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a third-party defendant that could be held responsible for part of any financial settlement potentially ordered by the courts.

While XL Foods denies any responsibility for the outbreak that sickened at least 18 people, the company has argued any possible liability should at least be shared with the CFIA.

XL Foods claims its operational standards met CFIA guidelines, and argued that if the meat packer is found liable, then “such standards were inadequate.” Any XL products that may have posed harm to the public were negligently inspected by the CFIA and distributed with its approval, according to the company.

Even if XL Foods is found to have financial responsibility, Mallett said, that doesn’t necessarily mean the CFIA will as well.

The CFIA did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

The class-action suit states that questionable meat was processed at the XL Foods facility in Brooks in late August and early September 2012.

The packing plant was closed for weeks after the outbreak and the resulting loss of 35 per cent of Canada’s beef processing capacity cost ranchers an estimated $16 million to $27 million.

In July, an independent panel concluded that the “relaxed attitude” of CFIA inspectors and XL Foods officials led to the outbreak.

The report found it was likely clogged nozzles on a carcass pasteurizer that contaminated meat, but that XL and the CFIA failed to spot the rise in positive E. coli tests before an estimated 4,000 tonnes of possibly tainted meat was shipped across the continent.

The Nilsson Brothers Group bought the Brooks plant in March 2009 from Tyson Foods Inc. The plant was sold to JBS Canada earlier this year.

On Tuesday, Nilsson Brothers, named in the suit alongside XL Foods, did not return a call for comment.

Statements of claim and defence contain allegations not proven in court.

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Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths will journey to China this week to share information on Alberta’s “successes in responding to the June floods,” prompting oppositions MLAs to blast the trip as an arrogant waste of taxpayer money.

The province announced Tuesday that Griffiths — who has headed up the government’s emergency response to flooding in southern Alberta — will travel to China for a 10-day mission beginning this weekend, at a cost of $33,000.

The trip will focus on “outlining how Alberta responded to the worst flooding disaster in the province’s history and learning about China’s expertise in disaster response,” according to a government release.

Griffiths wasn’t available for an interview, but said in the statement that “Alberta’s emergency management model is internationally renowned, and we are keen to share information on our successes in responding to the June floods.”

Opposition politicians condemned the international excursion, calling it a sightseeing trip with little value.

“Are you serious?” NDP MLA Rachel Notley said Tuesday.

“As much as the people of China may or may not gain from our so-called expertise, really, he should be focusing his time on actually bringing about a successful resolution to the disaster that we face.”

Liberal critic Laurie Blakeman lambasted the minister for saying he would discuss how well the province handled the disaster, which forced more than 100,000 people from their homes and caused an estimated $6 billion in damages.

Blakeman noted that after major floods in 2005, the Tories ignored key recommendations from their own internal report that might have mitigated some of the damage caused this spring.

“To be striding about in another country claiming that we have great anti-flood methods is a bit rich,” she said.

Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson said he was particularly “baffled” by the decision to go to China to discuss disaster response, given the Asian country’s record on dealing with human rights, individual freedoms and property rights.

“We generally don’t look to Communist, totalitarian governments to explain to us how to properly conduct ourselves in the case of a disaster,” Anderson said.

“It’s like going to Iran to learn about promotion of religious freedom. It makes no sense.”

But Griffiths’ press secretary said the minister was spending time in Shanghai because that’s where the conference is being hosted.

“It’s not just Chinese delegations, but countries from all over the world are attending this,” said Kathleen Range. “The Expo is also an opportunity to promote Alberta businesses that specialize in disaster response.”

According to the province, Griffiths will meet with regional disaster management experts and attend the Shanghai International Disaster Reduction and Security Show from Oct. 17 to 19. In Harbin, the MLA for Battle River-Wainwright will meet local officials and discuss possible joint projects on disaster preparation.

Derek Fildebrandt of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a frequent critic of government travel, didn’t fault Griffiths for heading to China, but said the price tag seems a bit high.

“He is the guy responsible largely for the flood file and flood relief file, so his reason for going doesn’t seem far out,” said Fildebrandt. “But $33,000 does seem like a fair bit of money for two people to be travelling for what, 10 days?”

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— With files from James Wood, Calgary Herald

By Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal October 3, 2013 7:29 AM