Canada’s electronic eavesdropping agency has OK to use torture-tainted info

OTTAWA – The Harper government has quietly given Canada’s electronic eavesdropping agency approval to exchange information with foreign partners even when it may put someone at risk of torture.

Ryan Foreman, a spokesman for Communications Security Establishment Canada, says the spy service is following a federal policy on the risks of ill-treatment when sharing information.

The policy is intended to guide security agencies when seeking or sharing information puts someone in foreign custody at serious risk of being tortured.

Records released through the access-to-information law have shown that several agencies — including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, RCMP and federal border organization — were directed to follow the policy.

However, until now there was no explicit confirmation that the policy applied to the Ottawa-based eavesdropping agency, known as CSEC.

The revelation comes amid mounting concern about widespread surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, CSEC’s American counterpart in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.