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“After [an] in-depth and lengthy review, I was unable to reach a definitive conclusion about compliance or non-compliance with the law.”

CSEC is forbidden from spying on Canadians no matter where they are in the world. It is also prohibited from eavesdropping on individuals within Canada.

Decary’s report comes amid ongoing concerns about massive global communications spy networks operated by the United States and Britain that have collected huge amounts of information about their own citizens.

Canada’s federal privacy czar has already said she is conducting a review to gauge whether spy agencies here are also targeting Canadians, and Decary’s findings will no doubt prompt louder calls for transparency and oversight of CSEC’s activities.

Decary has also completed a study into whether CSEC has pressed its American, British, Australian and New Zealand spy agency counterparts to respect long-standing promises not to snoop on Canadians.

That could shed light on what Canadian authorities knew about a massive telephone and Internet surveillance program in the U.S. called Prism.

However, it was not included in his report Wednesday because of an administrative error.

In tabling his report, Decary said he planned to step down from his position due to personal reasons, but that he would be staying on for another three months to ensure the appointment of a successor.

I started my mandate with the expectation that the legislative amendments to the National Defence Act proposed by my predecessors would soon be introduced in Parliament, but this has yet to happen

He indicated he planned to release his study of CSEC’s relationship with its foreign counterparts before he officially stepped down.