Mobile users deserve compensation for federal spying, lawsuit contends
VANCOUVER — Anyone who has used a cellphone, smartphone, laptop or tablet in Canada over the past 13 years deserves payment or other remedies for potentially having their privacy rights violated, says a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court.
A Vancouver-based civil rights group is suing Canada’s national electronic spy agency on behalf of anyone who used a wireless device in the country since 2001.
The suit targets Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC, which the association claims has been violating the constitutional rights of millions of Canadians.
“It’s certainly a large class of people, that’s for sure, but we also can’t be entirely sure who in Canada, which specific people have been targeted by this kind of electronic spying,” said Josh Paterson, B.C. Civil Liberties Association executive director.
“If this injustice has been committed … there does need to be some kind of remedy.”
The association filed the lawsuit as a companion to a legal action it began in October. The primary suit aims to have laws struck down that the group claims allows CSEC to read emails, text messages and listen to calls with people outside Canada.
Such legislation violates Canadians’ Charter Rights, the group argues, by infringing on privacy.
Money, the funding of educational programming or any other tangible fixes should be considered as a potential remedy if the first court case is proven, Paterson said.
“Really, it’s up to the courts to decide, it could include money,” he said, noting history shows a host of other examples. “There’s actually quite a lot of scope to what it could be.”
But Paterson suggested specifics of the redress are less important than the lawsuit’s key intention of ensuring that Canadians’ constitutional rights are protected.
Although CSEC is not allowed to intentionally collect or analyze communications information from its citizens, the federal defence minister can give written authorization for unintentional interception. The provision for collecting foreign-signals intelligence falls under the National Defence Act.
The class action uses 2001 as its baseline because in December of that year, just months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., Canada changed the anti-terrorism laws to which the group now objects.
The class action must be approved by the federal court before it can proceed.
An email to CSEC for comment was not returned. A previous request regarding the primary lawsuit returned one statement: “Under the law, this organization is prohibited from targeting Canadians.”