Royal Canadian Mounted Police response to Order Paper Question Q-566, June 23, 2022

Q-566² — May 6, 2022 — Mr. Van Popta (Langley—Aldergrove) — With regard to government programs conducting surveillance or gathering information from Canadians through their phones or other mobile devices, including programs involving anonymized data: what are the details of these programs since January 1, 2020, including, for each, (i) the name of program, (ii) the date the program began, if it began after January 1, 2020, (iii) the description of the data being collected, (iv) the purpose of the program, (v) the description of how the data is collected, (vi) the department or agency responsible for overseeing the program, (vii) whether or not the Privacy Commissioner was consulted before the program was implemented, (viii) the concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner, (ix) how each concern was addressed, (x) the end date of the program, (xi) the number of Canadians who had their data tracked?

NAME OF ORGANIZATION: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

What are the details of these programs since January 1, 2020, including, for each
(i) the name of program	(vii) whether or not the Privacy Commissioner was consulted before the program was implemented		(viii) the concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner	(ix) how each concern was addressed	(x) the end date of the program	(xi) the number of Canadians who had their data tracked
(i) the name of program	Consulted	Not Consulted	(viii) the concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner	(ix) how each concern was addressed	(x) the end date of the program	(xi) the number of Canadians who had their data tracked
Technical Investigation Services Covert Access and Intercept Team (TIS CAIT)	N/A	^{Footnote *}	N/A given response to vii	N/A given response to vii	The CAIT program is ongoing.	ODITs and other CAIT techniques are used primarily to collect private communications and other data from mobile and other electronic devices used by suspects associated to serious criminal and national security matters. Although the data collected may reveal the geographic location of suspects or their associates, traditional techniques such as physical surveillance and standalone tracking devices are more commonly used to track criminal suspects. Between 2018-2020, ODITs were deployed in ten (10) investigations. In every case, a judicial authorization was obtained before the ODIT was deployed.
Technical Investigations (TIS) Special “I” Program	N/A	^{Footnote **}	Concerns have been raised by the OPC in the past however they were addressed and mitigations implemented. See the example related to cell site simulators.	Relevant policy was implemented and legal Authorizations are always used to obtain relevant information on mobile devices and communications through phones.	There is no end date for the program. There is an ongoing requirement to support criminal investigations with relevant electronic surveillance techniques in order to collect evidence, continue upholding public safety, and supporting the ability to intercept private communications pursuant to authorizations obtained under Part VI of the Criminal Code.	The Special “I” data capturing systems do not capture the requested information at the level of detail requested. As a result, the information requested cannot be obtained without an extensive manual review of its files. This manual review could not be completed within the established timeline.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

The RCMP did not contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) before implementing the CAIT program. In 2021, the RCMP began drafting a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) in relation to CAIT activities, including the use of ODITs. RCMP plans to seek feedback from the OPC as part of the PIA drafting process. In April 2022, the RCMP provided a detailed briefing on CAIT’s use of ODITs to Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA). That briefing was related to NSIRA’s review of the impact of encryption on national security investigations.

RCMP’s CAIT tools and techniques are not used to conduct mass surveillance. The use of ODITs is always targeted and time-limited. They are only used for serious criminal and national security investigations and only after judicial authorization has been obtained. Due to the sensitive nature of CAIT activities, the RCMP carefully considers the advantages and disadvantages, including the impact on privacy and third parties, before taking the decision to deploy an ODIT in support of any criminal investigation. That assessment is conducted in close collaboration with investigators, RCMP technical specialists, Crown prosecutors and the RCMP's Technical Case Management Program (TCMP). Those consultations help ensure the RCMP's use of ODITs is effective and Charter-compliant. In summary, ODITs are only considered if:

(i) the proposed use is necessary and proportionate; (ii) all required judicial authorizations have been obtained; and, (iii) they can be deployed in keeping with strict conditions imposed by the authorizing Judge. Given the constant evolution of communications technology, CAIT will work with the RCMP’s new National Technology Onboarding Program (NTOP) to assessing the privacy impacts of new tools and technologies for investigative purposes.

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Footnote 2

No records exist to show that the Special "I" program in its entirety was evaluated by the OPC. However, specific tools of concern have been evaluated by the OPC and as such the Special "I" program is known to them. For example, the OPC completed a report on the RCMP's use of Cell Site Identifier equipment following a complaint and the report is available. Through a new initiative called the National Technical Onboarding Program (NTOP), novel technologies are being evaluated to ensure compliance with relevant risk areas such as legal, privacy, health and safety, training and policy.

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Date modified:: 2022-12-05

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police response to Order Paper Question Q-566, June 23, 2022