Top spy won't answer questions about G20 surveillance

News that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government allowed the largest American spy agency to conduct widespread surveillance in Canada during the 2010 G8 and G20 summits isn't drawing a response from the defence minister or the head of Canada's surveillance agency.

John Forster,chief of the Communications Security Establishment of Canada (CSEC), and Defence Minister Rob Nicholsonboth pointed to international security and said they couldn't answer questions about top secret documents retrieved by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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The documents show the federalgovernment allowed the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S.'s largest spy agency, to conduct widespread surveillance in Canada during the 2010summits.

The documents are being reported exclusively by CBC News.

"I can't comment in detail on the intelligence operations or capabilities of ourselves or our allies.What I can tell you is thatCSEC, under its legislation, cannot target Canadians anywhere in the world or anyone in Canada, including visitors to Canada," Forster said Thursday morning outside the House defence committee.

"We would only do so if we were assisting a law enforcement agency in Canada under a warrant, etc. To do otherwise would be against the law. Further, we cannot ask our allies to do any kind of operations that we ourselves are not permitted to do under law," he said, adding that the commissioner who reviews CSEC has found the agency acts "within the law."

'Did they respect the law?'

Forster wouldn't answer repeated questions aboutwhether Canada would let its allies perform those activities inside Canadian borders.

"I do partnerships with the Five Eyes allies but I do not ask them to perform actions that is against the law for me to perform in Canada."

The Five Eyes is the name given to the intelligence-sharing partnership between U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In question period, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair asked whether CSECor anyone else in the government authorize the NSA to spy.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson also refused to say whether Canada let theNSAspy during the 2010G8andG20.

"We cannot comment on specificforeign intelligence activitiesor capabilities under the law," Nicholson said.

"This organizationis prohibited from targetingCanadians. AndCSECcannot ask our international partners to actin a way that circumvents Canadianlaws."

Mulcair said Nicholson was telling him something he knows.

"The question was, did they doit? Thats the question," he said.

"Did CSECobtain the authorization of a judge beforeauthorizing, and helping theAmericans to spy on us in Canada during the G20 summit?"