NDP demands Minister of National Defence come clean on domestic spying

A new report revealing illegal spying on Canadians by the government electronic eavesdropping agency is raising troubling questions about what the government knew about domestic surveillance.

In June, then defence minister Peter MacKay denied there was any spying on Canadians, but the report released by the Commissioner of the Communication Security Establishment yesterday contradicts the minister.

“Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson needs to release all information related to this spying immediately. The Harper government can’t continue its practice of hiding, prorogation or not,” said NDP Defence Critic Jack Harris.

The NDP added that this illegal spying on Canadian citizens has to stop.

In Commissioner Robert Décary’s report, he states: “A small number of records suggested the possibility that some activities may have been directed at Canadians, contrary to the law” and adds “a number of CSEC records relating to these activities were unclear or incomplete”.