A newly released memo shows Canada’s border agency signed off on rules to guide its most intrusive intelligence operations months ago, but the federal government has yet to issue the ministerial direction.
The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, describes efforts stretching back seven years to introduce formal government instruction on the Canada Border Services Agency’s use of surveillance and confidential sources.
One civil liberties group called the delay in issuing guidance “deeply concerning.”
The border agency’s 14,000 employees manage the flow of millions of travellers and commercial shipments entering Canada annually.
They collect, analyze and distribute information concerning people and goods at border points, air terminals and seaports.
Border officers can stop travellers for questioning, take blood and breath samples, and search, detain and arrest people.
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