A special unit of Canada’s military spied on Native protesters and soldiers, and installed secret video cameras to monitor Defence Department employees suspected of theft even though it didn’t have warrants to do so.
Files obtained by The Ottawa Citizen through access-to-information legislation show the special operations branch of the Canadian Forces special investigations unit installed secret surveillance cameras to monitor soldiers and civilian employees on at least six occasions between 1993 and 1995 at bases across the country.
The branch’s mandate is to investigate espionage and terrorism, and gather information on immediate security threats.
Lawyers say the military is required to obtain warrants before using secret cameras to spy on employees. The documents reveal only one warrant was issued to the military for the use of covert video cameras during that period.
Documents also show that the secretive military unit spied on Native protesters at Ipperwash in 1993; the next year, it was put on alert to sneak into Oka, Que., and the surrounding Native reserves when tensions there increased.
The unit is armed with over $1 million in high-tech surveillance gear. The surveillance at Ipperwash was one of the unit’s most extensive missions.
The land was taken from the Native people during WWII for military training. The protesters were frustrated the Feds were stalling on returning the property. A special operations team hid in the bushes, photographing and recording the Natives’ every movement.
Less than a year later, the team was preparing to spy on Natives in Quebec. Tensions at Kanehsatake were mounting and in late January 1994 Mohawks fired as many as 60 bullets at two military aircraft.
The spy teams were told to be ready to move out within a few hours to collect intelligence. They were armed, but were warned to “use discretion.”
-SOURCE: THE EASTERN DOOR (Originally published in The Ottawa Citizen)
