OTTAWA— Canada’s top national security officials loudly defended the actions of the country’s ultra-secretive intelligence operations and denied breaching the privacy of Canadians, saying only foreigners are ever targeted.

They said a classified airport Internet Wi-Fi project revealed by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden didn’t use real-time data but provided information that enabled them to create a computer model for mapping global electronic communications.

The officials said it has been used twice in the past year to pinpoint “a foreign target.”

Stephen Rigby, national security adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and John Forster, chief of the electronic signals intelligence agency known as CSEC, said the agency does not target Canadians and has only mapped “metadata” — the what, where, and how of emails, texts or cellphone calls — not the actual content of conversations, written exchanges, or photos.

That data is used to narrow the location of terrorists or hostage-takers abroad, they said. Its collection and use — and the data’s destruction at an unspecified date — has been authorized by federal ministers of national defence under specific directives, the first time in 2005 under the Liberals and most recently in 2011 under the Conservatives, presumably under then-minister Peter MacKay.

Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) is not, by law, supposed to target Canadians. Forster said it may only “incidentally” intercept Canadian communications while targeting a foreigner, and then must have the interception authorized by the minister. Forster said he reports the frequency and nature of such interceptions annually to the defence minister as well.

Yet while they insisted Canadians here are not targets, the spies warned that Canadians are active in terrorist activities abroad. Michel Coulombe, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said CSIS is aware of more than 130 Canadians who have travelled abroad to participate in extremist activity — including 30 to Syria.

Much of the nearly three-hour hearing at the Senate committee on national security and defence was devoted to questions about a May 2012 CSEC slide presentation leaked by Snowden and the subject of a CBC news report last week.

Rigby defended the agency’s collection of metadata: “It does not represent a compromise of private communications by Canadians. It’s data about data and so is well within the parameters of CSEC’s operations.”

Forster also said the agency uses metadata to “ensure our intelligence collection is directed at foreign targets . . . and to be able to be sure we are not directing our activities at a Canadian phone network or a Canadian IP address to avoid targeting Canadian communications.”

Forster said the agency used a snapshot of historic metadata, and did not conduct surveillance operations or use information gathered from any Canadian airport’s operations. Nor did it target any Canadian or individual in Canada or track their movements “in real time,” he said.

Forster said the information was used to build an “analytical model” to show how information could be gathered from a public Internet access point and then be used to narrow or pinpoint a foreign target’s location or connections, because terrorists or hostage-takers often use public spaces like a hotel, airport or café Wi-Fi services to “hide in plain sight.”

“The model . . . can save time and work during an incident, where time is critical,” said Forster revealing that “I’m aware of at least two cases in past 12 months where this model has been and is being used to help identify legitimate foreign targets.”

It was a rare disclosure of the agency’s role in overseas operations. Forster added the agency’s work has been key in the past in saving the lives of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Challenged by Conservative Senator Pierre Claude Nolin as to whether the agency circumvents its legal mandate by relying on intelligence on Canadians gathered by the U.S. or other allies, Forster said there is no back door.

Referring to the Five Eyes — the intelligence community made up of Canada, the U.S., the UK, Australia and New Zealand — Forster said the allies have reached common ground.

“We have a policy in terms of collecting communications amongst the Five Eyes: we don’t target each other citizens; it’s an agreement among the Five Eyes.”

Both Forster and Rigby insisted CSEC’s activities are reviewed by its watchdog the CSEC commissioner, a retired judge, and have been deemed legal and appropriate.

Rigby said all Canada’s “allies have adopted a different model of oversight” but insisted Canada’s watchdog agencies is an appropriate regime. He said the review bodies, which include the CSEC commissioner, and the Security Intelligence Review Committee that oversees CSIS are “sufficiently resourced” and are “functioning extremely well.”

“Of course, we could improve,” he said. Later, he clarified, “I’m not saying they’re perfect,” but he cautioned that more legislated oversight “should be viewed with caution.”

Forster and the head of CSIS, Michel Coulombe, told the committee the spy agencies charged with counter-terrorism and counter-espionage would accede to whatever further oversight Parliament required, but warned against duplication of effort.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Ontario’s and the federal privacy commissioners have raised the alarm about just how intrusive the agencies’ activities appear to be, following those reports.

Rigby said a report last week by Chantal Bernier, the interim federal privacy commissioner, put forth “interesting ideas . . . that we are aware of and are studying.” But he seemed cool to increased oversight, suggesting there are already “robust mechanisms” in place.

Senator Grant Mitchell, a Liberal, said later he was not satisfied and believes there is a need for more parliamentary oversight. “It’s very easy to become bogged down in one perspective unless you’re challenged. And parliamentarians in other parties would provide that challenge.”