statism watch

ctvtoronto.ca
Updated Wed. May. 21 2008 1:22 PM ET

Ontario’s privacy commissioner is worried some security features being considered for the province’s new high-tech driver’s licence could expose personal data of residents.

Ann Cavoukian is raising concerns because the federal government is not willing to make citizenship information available to the provinces that are creating the enhanced licences.

Ontario’s card, which could double as an alternative to a passport when crossing the Canada-U.S. border, may later be embedded with immigration information.

Those records are kept in Ottawa, but the federal government wants provinces to collect their own citizenship information and create their own databases.

The process of creating a mirror database could lead to people’s personal information being exposed or stolen by identity thieves, Cavoukian said.

“It would create enormous risks in terms of inaccuracy, the potential for identity theft of creating a new database with very sensitive information, not to mention a waste of efficiency in taxpayer dollars,” the commissioner said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“I’ve urged the federal government to withdraw this requirement. I’ve also advised the Ontario government against doing this.”

Cavoukian is also concerned about another feature being considered for Ontario’s new licences. The government may implant a radio frequency transmitter in the cards to notify border officials when drivers are approaching.

The commissioner is worried others may be able to find out how to monitor a person’s whereabouts by picking up the signal.

Ontario is among a number of provinces that have been pushing for high-tech driver’s licences as an alternative to passports to cross into the U.S. by land or sea.

Full Story | See Also: North American ID card in the works through SPP | Electronic Passports Raise Privacy Issues | Heibert says U.S. giving Canada time to implement enhanced driver’s licence

CBC News
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

An American soldier who sought asylum in Canada after serving in the Iraq War will be deported to the United States.

The federal government says there is no risk in sending Corey Glass home, and he is scheduled to leave Canada on June 12.

Glass, 25, came to Toronto in August 2006.

“What I saw in Iraq convinced me that the war is illegal and immoral. I could not in good conscience continue to take part in it,” Glass said in a prepared statement.

“I came here because Canada did not join the Iraq War. Also, I knew Canada had welcomed many Americans during the Vietnam War.”

Despite Ottawa’s decision, Lee Zaslofsky, co-ordinator of the War Resisters Support Campaign and a Vietnam War resister, insisted that Glass would face severe penalties if he returns to the U.S.

“Corey Glass would be the first Iraq War resister to be deported from Canada. He would face imprisonment and severe penalties in the U.S.

“This goes against Canada’s tradition of welcoming Americans who disagree with policies like slavery and the Vietnam War,” Zaslofsky said in a press release.

Glass said he left the U.S. because fighting in Iraq wasn’t what he signed up for when he joined the Indiana National Guard.

He said the U.S. military told him he could do humanitarian work and would never have to fight a war outside that country.

Some experts also say Glass could face anywhere from several months to several years in a military prison.

It is believed there are about 150 war deserters living in Canada.

Full Story | See Also: War Resisters Canada

michaelgeist.ca
Tuesday May 20, 2008

With only two weeks left in the House of Commons calendar until the summer recess (technically the House could sit for an additional two weeks but few expect that to happen), Industry Minister Jim Prentice is likely to introduce his new copyright bill next week or during the first week of June.  While Prentice continues to claim that he is actively working on a bill that meets the needs of creators and consumers, the talk in Ottawa is that the bill is done. The DMCA provisions that generated so much opposition last December are still there as Prentice is seemingly unwilling to take a stand against the U.S. pressure by siding with Canadian business, consumers, and education groups.

How will Prentice attempt to sell the Canadian DMCA?  Word is that the six months since the initial bill was shelved has yielded some changes, most notably reforms such as the legalization of time shifting (ie. recording television shows with a VCR/PVR) and possibly device shifting (ie. transfer a song from a store bought CD to an iPod).

Neither of these provisions come close to meeting the concerns of the many groups that have spoken out on copyright over the past six months.  Moreover, the Prentice Canadian DMCA is still likely to render Canadians infringers where they seek to use these new exceptions in the digital realm.  For example, last week there were reports that NBC inserted copy-controls into some of their television programming that rendered Windows Vista Media Center users unable to record television shows.  Under the Prentice plan, users that seek to circumvent the digital lock to record the television show (as he will claim they can) will still violate the law.  The same is true for copy-controlled CDs – try circumventing the copy-controls to shift the music onto your iPod and you’re violating the law even with a device-shifting provision.

If the exceptions are undermined by the Canadian DMCA provisions, why is Prentice throwing them in?  The answer is pretty clear.  Prentice hopes that the media coverage will focus on these new “modernizing” provisions that he will claim benefit consumers, rather than on the DMCA-style anti-circumvention provisions that will lock down consumer products, harm research and security, raise privacy concerns, and create a restrictive new legal environment.

With the bill seemingly only days away, now is the time to again tell Prentice and your local MP that Canadians will not be so easily deceived.  Countries such as New Zealand and Israel have recently enacted legislation with far more balance than what Prentice has in mind.  It only takes a few seconds to send an email to Prentice, the Prime Minister, and your local MP, letting them know that Canadians won’t be deceived by a Canadian DMCA and that Canadian copyright reform should reflect fair copyright principles (and after you click send, print out the email and drop it in the mail without a stamp to House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A0A6).

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David Aikin, Canwest News
May 21, 2008

Documents indicate military planners will use the Vancouver Olympics as a template for securing other events in Canada, such as meetings of the G8 leaders or future sporting events.

OTTAWA – Canadian security agencies are planning to use planes, tanks, ships and thousands of military and police personnel to secure the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and will consider their job a success if the public hardly notices their presence.

“It must be understood that the V2010 Games are a sporting event, not a security one,” wrote Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier in his Initiating Directive, a document prepared in June, 2006, that formally authorized the Canadian Forces to begin assisting the RCMP with that agency’s Olympic plans.

The directive and other Canadian Forces documents indicate the Canadian Forces are taking great pains not to “take over” planning for the Olympics and to ensure that during the event, Canadian Forces personnel and equipment will be visible only during ceremonial events.

Military planners say it will be the largest security operation in Canadian history and, if they do it right, Canadians will hardly notice.

“CF support to this aspect of the V2010 Games will need to be discreet to the general public. CF ceremonial support to [the federal government] will be in the public eye to the extent desired by the [government],” Gen. Hillier wrote. “In both cases, it must be understood that the CF shall remain in a supporting role and at no time should staff at any levels attempt to take the lead.”

Security agencies believe they will be able to stay out of sight by using an array of surveillance technologies, including closed-circuit cameras, electronic sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicles flying high over the Olympic venues in Vancouver and Whistler. In fact, one researcher, sociologist David Lyon of Queen’s University, has dubbed Vancouver 2010 “the Surveillance Games.” Mr. Lyon, the director of The Surveillance Project, a research initiative partly funded with a $2.5-million federal government grant, plans to organize an academic conference on that theme in Vancouver just ahead of the 2010 Games.

A discrete and quiet role would be a marked contrast to approaches taken by the CF and police forces to secure other high-profile events.

For example, at the 2007 summit in Montebello, Que., where Prime Minister Stephen Harper hosted meetings with U. S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, police in riot gear backed up by camouflaged Canadian Forces soldiers patrolled the area around the meeting site. Canadian Forces helicopters, with armed soldiers hanging out the sides, deterred canoes and motorboats along the Ottawa River.

Armed soldiers and helicopters will be present in Vancouver, but military and police planners are hopeful of keeping them in the background. Nearly 13,000 RCMP, military and other security personnel are expected in Vancouver as part of the 2010 security effort.

The RCMP is also planning to install hundreds of cameras throughout the Olympic venues, each of which will use face-recognition technology to help officers keep tabs on the nearly half a million visitors expected in Vancouver for the Games.

Gen. Hillier, in his initializing orders, said the CF has two goals for Vancouver: secure the Games and do so while upholding the Olympic spirit.

“Forces and other dangerous individuals or organizations may seize this moment to further their aims using violence,” Gen. Hillier wrote. “Canadian security forces, and the CF, must therefore be poised to detect, deter, prevent, pre-empt and defeat threats and aggression during the period of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics while respecting, as much as possible, the spirit of the Olympic Truce.”

The documents also indicate military planners will use the Vancouver Olympics as a template for securing other events in Canada, such as meetings of the G8 leaders or future sporting events.

Security agencies, led and coordinated by the RCMP, are planning to be able to secure the 2010 Games against a number of threats, including natural disasters, terrorists, organized crime activity, cyber-threats to information systems and protests.

“There are a number of terrorist groups that maintain a presence within Canada,” Lieutenant-General Marc Dumais wrote in a planning guidance directive issued on Oct. 26, 2006. “While much of their activity is related to fundraising, some of these groups are assessed as having the capacity to undertake terrorist acts.”

Lt.-Gen. Dumais is the Commander of Canada Command, one of the four operational divisions of the Canadian Forces. Canada Command is responsible for all routine and emergency military operations within Canada.

Full Story | See Also: CSIS Spying on Natives, Olympic Dissidents

CP
May 21, 2008

VANCOUVER–Two heart specialists told an inquiry into the use of Tasers that a jolt from the weapons can “almost certainly” cause heart problems and possibly even sudden cardiac arrest.

Dr. Michael Janusz, a heart surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of British Columbia, told the inquiry yesterday that based on his study of available literature on Taser use, “almost all physicians would conclude that Tasers can induce ventricular fibrillation.”

The hearing was told ventricular fibrillation is an extremely rapid rhythm in the heart’s lower chambers, leading to ineffective contractions of the heart.

Dr. Charles Kerr, a UBC professor and a heart surgeon, told the inquiry that he, too, has concluded a Taser jolt could induce ventricular fibrillation.

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The Toronto Star
May 21, 2008 04:30 AM

OTTAWA–All it takes to get noticed by Canada’s top anti-terrorism team is a shocking band name and a provocative logo.

At least, that’s the contention of The Suicide Pilots, a self-described “no-name punk band” based in Ottawa that promotes itself with a cartoon image of a plane swooping toward the Parliament Buildings.

Access to Information documents released by the band’s lawyer yesterday show the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team took a look at the group last year as a result of the band’s outspoken and politically active drummer, Jeffrey Monaghan.

Monaghan was alleged last spring to have leaked the environmental plan of the Conservative government, and was marched in handcuffs by the RCMP out of his contract job at Environment Canada.

He was never charged with anything, but his musical tastes, including a song titled “Harper Youth,” quickly attracted state scrutiny.

“Subject is a self-described anarchist and drummer in a punk band that compares (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper to Hitler,” says an RCMP report dated two days after Monaghan’s May 9, 2007 arrest.

The band’s MySpace page depicts a “9/11 type drawing showing an airplane crashing into the Parliament; there is also anti-Harper songs from the band,” says an assistance request from the national security team to the Tech Crime unit.

The documents show that the force’s integrated cyber-analysis team, the commercial crime unit and national security team were all involved.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service was apprised. “Advise CSIS of our findings,” states a timeline for May 29.

The last entry is dated Sept. 8 and is marked “NFAR, CH” – RCMP jargon for No Further Action Required, Cancelled Here.

The band, in a statement, said the investigation is indicative of “Harper’s `War on Terror’ gone mad.”

The RCMP declined to comment.

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Noor Javed, The Toronto Star
May 21, 2008 04:30 AM

C-51 may restrict access to natural health products by lumping them in with pharmaceuticals, they say

Every week, Daniel Chiang, a nutritionist and clinic owner at the Inspired Life Health Centre on Danforth Ave., treats more than a dozen patients, offering them “alternative medicine options” to help heal ailments ranging from the flu to digestive problems.

Sometimes, he suggests home remedies; other times it may be a nutritional supplement. He has always been able to recommend or suggest as he chooses. But now he worries this could change with Bill C-51, legislation – making its way through Parliament – that will modernize the Food and Drugs Act for the first time in over 50 years.

…

Among proposed changes in Bill C-51 are greater penalties for rule-breakers, power for the health minister to recall unsafe drug products, and improved safety of all products.

But critics – who have been carefully monitoring the progress of the bill, which is awaiting second reading – fear changes to the act will restrict access to natural health products, delay their approval and give the health ministry unprecedented powers of enforcement.

Critics fear the ministry would be able to suspend or cancel clinical trials, disclose and demand confidential information, and impose costly fines for minor infractions – with no mention of an appeal process after such decisions. Maximum fines for an indictable offence under the act could increase from $5,000 to as much as $5 million.

“Basically, this is unbelievable granting of police state powers to essentially untrained field staff, inspectors at Health Canada, who are making life-and-death decisions based on misguided policy,” said Peter Helgason, vice-president of political affairs for the Natural Health Products Protection Association. “What I don’t understand is, what problem are they trying to fix with this?”

Tony Clement, the federal health minister who tabled the legislation this year, said increased government oversight is needed to protect the public.

“Canadians are concerned with the food that they eat and the pills that they take, so we’re not going to back down. Everybody is going to be regulated. We’re not going to exempt an entire industry from regulation.”

Full Story | See Also: Canada’s C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% Of Natural Health Products | Codex Alimentarius — An Emerging Threat

Kristin Rushowy, The Toronto Star
May 21, 2008

Toronto’s public board is expected to spend $4 million this fall to implement the first phase of its plan to improve safety and promote a “culture of respect” in its schools.

The plan, which goes before trustees tonight, calls for increased police presence in schools, better ways to deal with student-on-student sexual assault as well as more, and higher-tech, security cameras.

It is the Toronto District School Board’s response to the report of a safety panel it commissioned after the shooting death of Jordan Manners a year ago at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute.

Toronto board chair John Campbell said it will find the money for the first of three phases of the report within existing funding from the province.

“You’re looking at adding, down the road, an additional 90-plus support workers, that could be in the neighbourhood of $6 to 7 million” extra, he said.

…

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said she’s glad the board is taking the panel’s recommendations seriously.

She said the province has provided some $43 million to school boards for such things as programs for expelled students, as well as money to hire additional social workers and child and youth workers, which was provided even before the Falconer report came out. The Toronto board’s portion totalled almost $4 million.

She also said the province injected $3 million in 2004 for more security cameras.

As for an increased police presence, she’s not keen on officers patrolling the halls, but said it’s “important for schools to have a solid relationship with police. … What I know is where a school has a good working relationship with the police, things go much better.”
…

As for the police, Campbell said the board has spoken with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, and there’s a plan to add 30 officers to work with high school students in both the public and Catholic boards.

“You will remember in the (Falconer) report, that what has diminished in recent years is the police liaison activity in schools. It’s something we need to address. … We could forge a closer relationship between police and our students” through increased classroom visits and walkabouts, he added.

Campbell said the main request of principals is either upgraded or simply more security cameras. That is something listed in Phase II of the report, for the fall of 2009.

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By Alexis Madrigal, wired.com
May 21, 2008

An obscure bill that sailed through Congress and was signed into law last month is stoking fears of a nationwide DNA warehouse potentially open to abuse by law enforcement agencies or health insurance companies.

But proponents say the law is a much-needed rationalization of the way the government stores and tests blood from newborns.

The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 (S.1858/H.R. 3825), signed into law on April 24, will provide guidelines to all states on how — and for how long — they should store blood. At present, all states store blood from all newborns, and some, like California, store it indefinitely. Critics fear that the samples, which contain recoverable DNA, might in the future be used to identify the subject or their medical profile.

“What we are doing is taking an individual genetic code and saying it’s the government’s,” said Twila Brase, of the Minnesota activist group Citizens’ Council on Health Care. “And once we do that, it’s available for whatever a legislature wants to do in 20 years. The fact of the matter is that we don’t know what they could or would do.”

States have been storing blood samples from newborns since blood screening for genetic defects and diseases began in the 1960s. The samples can help detect and treat a wide range of diseases, but in the age of the genome, the issue of storing samples has taken on unprecedented importance. Blood samples contain DNA that can be unambiguously linked to individuals, which may in the future present tempting data to governments, businesses and health providers.

Currently, each state has its own policy about storing newborn blood samples. California has screened and stored more than 12 million newborn babies’ blood spots since 1980, while Texas disposes of them within months.

Brase’s group wants to see all so-called biobanks destroyed.

“You’re building an entire DNA warehouse for the public without the public’s consent,” Brase said. “Who will own the DNA of the citizens and what is that going to mean? And what we’re doing is pushing an entire genetic research program on the population without the consent of the population.”

Proponents, however, say the scientific and medical value of the blood samples far outweigh the privacy risks of storing biological material from every newborn.

“They are extremely valuable when they are anonymized for research when looking at new technologies,” said Edward Howell, chairman of the committee referred to in the bill, the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders and Genetic Diseases in Newborns and Children to the Health Resources and Services Administration. “Those conspiracy theories are very popular on the blogs, but … the states have been very careful in dealing with [blood spots].”

Howell says law enforcement agencies have asked states for blood samples and been turned down.

“The bottom line is that many states have kept these for a very long time and I am unaware of anything that has been done with them that would concern even a very conservative person,” Howell said.

…

One thing is for sure: As scientists and law enforcement officials continue to learn more about how to use the DNA in each of our cells, the way biological samples are handled by the government seems certain to receive more scrutiny.

“The whole confidentiality issue is certainly a huge issue in the age of genomics,” McCabe said.

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Gordon Correra, BBC News
Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Two recent reports about the threat posed by terrorism present contrasting pictures.

Three weeks ago, the US released its “Country Reports on Terrorism” for 2007, described as a reference tool for the war on terror.

It highlighted the many plots disrupted over the year around the world, warning that al-Qaeda leaders had “reconstituted”, and “continued to plot attacks”.

But today, a different view comes from the Human Security Brief for 2007 which comes with the contrasting headline: “Terrorism Fatalities Decline as Muslim Support for al-Qaeda Terror Network Plummets.”

…

It does this by challenging the figures used by other counts, particularly when it comes to Iraq, questioning whether violent deaths of civilians in Iraq are really due to terrorism or instead due to a civil war, and if the latter, then why other civil wars – for instance in Sudan or Congo – do not have their fatalities included in counts.

Removing Iraq does makes a significant difference.

The Human Security Brief also argues that if you include civilian casualties, but look at the latter half of 2007, then there is a decline.

…

“When you put all of this together, the impression is of a situation that is better than the expert consensus argues.”

There are certainly signs that al-Qaeda’s appeal is diminishing to the wider community of Muslims.

Bin Laden’s audio and video messages create relatively little chatter on the web forums in the way they used to.

In the long run this trend is bound to reduce the terrorist threat but it may take some time, and the concern is that there are already large numbers of individuals who have already been radicalised, and are still determined to commit acts of violence.

A single major attack like 9/11 could transform the statistics.

And even an attempt to use chemical or biological weapons that do not kill many could create waves of fear, far out of proportion to the statistical toll.

But how likely is that? No-one really knows.

That makes trying to either measure or predict where terrorism is going far from easy.

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