OTTAWA—Canada’s military spies can collect and share information about Canadian citizens — including material gathered by chance — as long as it supports a legitimate investigation, says a newly disclosed federal directive. The instruction to National Defence employees and members of the Canadian Forces says any information collected about Canadians must have a “direct and immediate relationship” to a military operation or activity. But it also warns that “emerging technologies and capabilities” are increasing the possibility that such Canadian information will be scooped up inadvertently from open sources like social-media feeds. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOWData about Canadians, whether it’s collected intentionally or not, may be kept and used to support authorized defence-intelligence operations, the directive says. The committee called for stricter controls on the military’s spying, including the possibility of legislation spelling out when and how defence intelligence operations can take place.

Source: thestar June 09, 2019 17:48 UTC