If Canada’s “SIGINT” (Signals Intelligence) agency doesn’t have records to share with Elections Canada of malicious #robocalls made outside of Canada aimed at disrupting our federal election, then what good is CSEC doing for our democracy? Tracking Brazilian terrorists?
Production orders were obtained for records from Rogers, Shaw and Videotron. Together, they provided records of 6,051 incoming calls received by the 129 complainants named in the production orders. Investigators determined that these calls originated from 1,597 different numbers. Each number was matched to a subscriber where possible. Some service providers gave subscriber information, but others refused to confirm subscribers without a production order. Some numbers originated with US service providers, all of whom similarly refused to co-operate. In the end, subscriber information for incoming calls was obtained for 949 numbers and could not be obtained for 648 numbers. Each number was also checked against political telemarketers’ call log data, numbers known to have been used by political entities, and the CRTC and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre databases of suspect numbers.
We know thanks to Ed Snowden that the NSA (and therefore CSEC) keep “metadata” on the phone calls made.
The inability [of Elections Canada] to access the call records of the 213 additional complainants for whom call records existed, but whose complaints came too late to be included in the initial ITOs, meant that some complainant reports could not be checked against concrete telephone records. This made reliance on the co-operation of political parties and telemarketers even more important.
Some telemarketers and telephone service providers refused outright to co-operate.
Could those include robocall providers contracted exclusively by the Conservative Party of Canada to conduct phoning for their political masters and friends?
Their intent was clear to even Elections Canada, who had its hands clamped over its ears during the entire investigation when they weren’t tied behind its back.
117. It is noteworthy, however, that the investigation found that some national and local campaigns had arranged for calls informing electors of their poll location despite, at least in the case of one party, their knowledge that a small percentage of electors would be given incorrect information, and despite Elections Canada’s warning to political parties not to give poll location information.
Recently the RCMP excused Nigel Wright from facing charges for bribing Mike Duffy because they said they couldn’t prove mens rea, his guilty mind (intent). With RoboCon, we have both the guilty mind confirmed, and the criminal act of misdirecting voters, and again no charges for Conservatives.
A disturbing pattern has emerged in Canada.
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