Flash
1st November 2016, 19:16
Added: IF THIS BELOW HAPPEN IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, AND IN MONTREAL, IT IS HAPPENING IN EVERY STATE AS WELL AND ALL OTHER PROVINCES.
This is important: the chief police was not aware of it. It means that petty regular police officer can tap journalists phones without approval from the hierarchy. This feels like, sounds like, looks like dictatorship where anybody can scoop anybody's else information and snitch on them when needed or desired. On a local, day to day, living environment.
Original post:
I cannot believe that the Orwelian spying on individuals and reporters starts in Quebec. Everyting that Snowden feared is happening now, at a much lower level than the NSA.
The Montreal police has asked for warrant to spy on a reporter, 23 warrants were granted. Their aim: to find the reporter's sources of information. The reporter was never considered as a threat himself. And this, in a inner police department of policeman leakers (whistleblowers). Incredible
But it is not the first case in Quebec. There were other ones on a smaller scale where individuals giving information to reporters were spied on to obtain their other contacts numbers.
My province is quite peaceful usually, the police far from as agressive as in the USA (in fact often helpful to citizens). I cannot believe they are the first one to be caught.
For the French members, here three articles - you will find the same in most newspapers:
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/10/31/quand-la-police-espionne
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/11/01/surveillance-de-journalistes-une-soixantaine-de-pays-en-parle
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/10/31/dautres-journalistes-surveilles
For the English speaking members, here some articles:
Huftington post article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/31/la-presse-montreal-police_n_12736202.html
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-police-monitored-iphone-of-la-presse-journalist-patrick-lagace
Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette
Published on: November 1, 2016 | Last Updated: November 1, 2016 11:51 AM EDT
Patrick Lagace's lawyer shocked by police surveillance operation
Montreal police strongly defended a highly controversial decision to spy on a La Presse columnist by tracking his cellphone calls and texts and monitoring his whereabouts as part of a necessary internal police investigation — while the journalist involved called what they did “indefensible.”
“Lives were not at stake, this was not a question of national security,” La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said in an interview Monday. “The leaks made them look bad, that’s why they decided to go after me in the way they did.”
Opposition politicians are also condemning Montreal police for spying on Lagacé, though Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre stood by police chief Philippe Pichet on Monday, noting that a mayor should not intervene in police operations, but did say he was troubled by the news.
For several months this year, police were monitoring Lagacé’s iPhone to determine the identity of his sources, La Presse reported. This was confirmed to Lagacé last Thursday by Montreal police.
At least 24 surveillance warrants were granted by courts in 2016, at the request of the Montreal police department’s special investigations section, which probes crime within the police force. The warrants allowed police to track the telephone numbers of incoming and outgoing calls on Lagacé’s phone, and to monitor the phone’s location, although Pichet denied at a hastily convened press conference Monday that the GPS on his phone was monitored.
Lagacé said he is sure many judges around the world have been asked by police departments to grant similar warrants, but refused because it was too “vulgar” to spy on a reporter. “It was incredibly aggressive,” he said, questioning the judgment of the judge involved.
Warrants obtained in relation to internal investigation
The surveillance warrants were obtained as part of Projet Escouade, which involved allegations that police investigators specializing in street gangs and drug trafficking fabricated evidence. Five police officers were arrested this summer, and two were charged.
One of the officers targeted by Escouade was Fayçal Djelidi. By monitoring his cellphone, Montreal police detected contact between Djelidi and Lagacé, La Presse reported.
Djelidi was arrested in July and is charged with nine counts, including perjury, attempting to obstruct justice, breach of trust by a public officer and obtaining sexual services for consideration.
The controversial outgoing boss of internal affairs at the Montreal police department, Costa Labos, told La Presse that he gave the green light to the surveillance. On Friday it was announced that Labos has been transferred to the telecommunications department, but there is no evidence the move is related to the surveillance controversy.
While Projet Montréal called on the police chief to step aside temporarily to permit an independent investigation, Pichet said Monday it was an “exceptional situation,” which warranted the action.
“I’m saying in an exceptional situation we can use that type of tool,” he said in response to a reporter’s question during a 15-minute press conference at police headquarters Monday.
He said the journalist was never under investigation, it was the police. “We do have a responsibility to investigate all types of crimes involving officers,” he said.
He repeated several times how important freedom of the press is, but said the investigation was of a criminal nature and warranted the measures taken.
“What is important for me is that all regulations were followed,” Pichet said, adding that there are no other similar surveillances to his knowledge.
The police chief also said that Montreal city hall wasn’t involved in the investigation and Coderre found out about it in Monday’s La Presse.
Police met with Lagacé to explain the operation, said Pichet, but Lagacé said he is less concerned with such courtesies than with the principles involved.
“I’m not an investigative journalist and they did this to me,” Lagacé said, adding that after what Pichet said at the press conference “this is now free game and not taboo anymore.”
Coderre blamed for climate of “paranoia”
Calling the spying “worrisome,” Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said his department is looking into whether police followed proper procedures. He said a free press is important but noted that it’s also “important that there is independence between political power, judicial power and the power of police.”
Related
Head of Montreal police department's internal affairs won't face criminal charges
Head of internal affairs for Montreal police under investigation: report
Mayor Denis Coderre troubled by news police were tracking journalist
Editorial: Spying on Montreal reporter an attack on free press
Government must act to protect journalists’ sources
At a press conference, Coderre said he spoke to Pichet on Monday morning to tell him he was troubled by the case. He said he did not ask for details about the Lagacé surveillance or whether police are closely monitoring other reporters.
“There is a process and we have to understand that right now it’s in front of the court and that there’s a judge who signed all the paperwork,” Coderre said.
However, Lagacé said that while Coderre may never have been directly involved in the operation, he blamed the mayor for creating a climate that enabled it to happen — a climate of “paranoia” regarding leaks about the city and pressure on Pichet to curb such incidents.
Éric Trottier, vice-president of information at La Presse, denounced the surveillance, saying it “constitutes an attack against the institution of the press and against the journalistic profession.”
Lawyer Sébastien Pierre-Roy, who is representing La Presse, speaks to reporters at the Montreal Courthouse on Monday, October 31, 2016. Lawyers from La Presse were attempting to obtain documents pertinent to a 24 surveillance warrant on journalist Patrick Lagacé by SPVM police.
Lawyer Sébastien Pierre-Roy, who is representing La Presse, speaks to reporters at the Montreal Courthouse on Monday, October 31, 2016. Lawyers from La Presse were attempting to obtain documents pertinent to a 24 surveillance warrant on journalist Patrick Lagacé by SPVM police. Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette
Sébastien Pierre-Roy, a lawyer representing La Presse, said it may be “the first time in Canada that we’ve learned that a police force has gone so far as to obtain private information from a journalist with the express purpose of identifying one of his sources relevant to that investigation.”
Lagacé said late Monday afternoon that after a long day of doing interviews on the topic, he was still reeling from the whole thing.
“This is uncharted territory,” he said. “I didn’t think something like this could be possible.”
the reporter himself speaking:http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/journalist-patrick-lagace-police-surveillance-spying-1.3828832
La Presse columnist says he was put under police surveillance as part of 'attempt to intimidate'
Police told Patrick Lagacé he was being used as 'tool' in investigation into its own officer, he says
By Kamila Hinkson, Sabrina Marandola, CBC News Posted: Oct 31, 2016 9:32 AM ET| Last Updated: Oct 31, 2016 6:47 PM ET
La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said he was shocked to learn police had him under surveillance.
La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said he was shocked to learn police had him under surveillance. (Marie-Ève Soutière/Radio-Canada)
Related Stories
■ Surveillance of Montreal reporter a 'serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada'
■ Major shakeup underway within Montreal police ranks
■ No grounds for charges against police officer accused of lying to a judge
■ Is the Montreal police department in crisis?
■ Prime minister calls Mountie surveillance of reporters a mistake
■ 'It's a scary thing': Vice reporter ordered to turn information over to RCMP
A columnist for Montreal's La Presse newspaper says the city's police have been spying on him for months, as part of an attempt to intimidate members of the police force who want to share information with journalists.
Police obtained 24 warrants this year to track Patrick Lagacé's whereabouts using the GPS chip in his iPhone, and to obtain the identities of everyone he has spoken and messaged with, La Presse reported.
'I lived in this fiction that this could not happen in this country.'
— Patrick Lagacé, La Presse columnist
Lagacé said police told him he was being used as a "tool" in an investigation into one of its own officers.
"I was flabbergasted because I thought that in this country it takes very, very serious motives to track and spy on a journalist like that — motives that are so serious that's it's never happened before," Lagacé said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.
"My metadata was transferred to the police. The police had the right to activate the GPS in my phone — to locate me at any time. I lived in this fiction that this could not happen in this country."
■MORE: Surveillance of reporter a 'serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada'
Lagacé added that he questions the judge's decision.
"What shocks me is that a judge decided this is perfectly normal in a democracy," he said.
"When we start spying on journalists … there are questions to be asked about who the judges are [who are] authorizing these warrants."
The revelations have raised concern among journalism advocacy groups and drawn the attention of anti-surveillance advocates, including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
This is important: the chief police was not aware of it. It means that petty regular police officer can tap journalists phones without approval from the hierarchy. This feels like, sounds like, looks like dictatorship where anybody can scoop anybody's else information and snitch on them when needed or desired. On a local, day to day, living environment.
Original post:
I cannot believe that the Orwelian spying on individuals and reporters starts in Quebec. Everyting that Snowden feared is happening now, at a much lower level than the NSA.
The Montreal police has asked for warrant to spy on a reporter, 23 warrants were granted. Their aim: to find the reporter's sources of information. The reporter was never considered as a threat himself. And this, in a inner police department of policeman leakers (whistleblowers). Incredible
But it is not the first case in Quebec. There were other ones on a smaller scale where individuals giving information to reporters were spied on to obtain their other contacts numbers.
My province is quite peaceful usually, the police far from as agressive as in the USA (in fact often helpful to citizens). I cannot believe they are the first one to be caught.
For the French members, here three articles - you will find the same in most newspapers:
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/10/31/quand-la-police-espionne
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/11/01/surveillance-de-journalistes-une-soixantaine-de-pays-en-parle
http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/10/31/dautres-journalistes-surveilles
For the English speaking members, here some articles:
Huftington post article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/31/la-presse-montreal-police_n_12736202.html
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-police-monitored-iphone-of-la-presse-journalist-patrick-lagace
Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette
Published on: November 1, 2016 | Last Updated: November 1, 2016 11:51 AM EDT
Patrick Lagace's lawyer shocked by police surveillance operation
Montreal police strongly defended a highly controversial decision to spy on a La Presse columnist by tracking his cellphone calls and texts and monitoring his whereabouts as part of a necessary internal police investigation — while the journalist involved called what they did “indefensible.”
“Lives were not at stake, this was not a question of national security,” La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said in an interview Monday. “The leaks made them look bad, that’s why they decided to go after me in the way they did.”
Opposition politicians are also condemning Montreal police for spying on Lagacé, though Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre stood by police chief Philippe Pichet on Monday, noting that a mayor should not intervene in police operations, but did say he was troubled by the news.
For several months this year, police were monitoring Lagacé’s iPhone to determine the identity of his sources, La Presse reported. This was confirmed to Lagacé last Thursday by Montreal police.
At least 24 surveillance warrants were granted by courts in 2016, at the request of the Montreal police department’s special investigations section, which probes crime within the police force. The warrants allowed police to track the telephone numbers of incoming and outgoing calls on Lagacé’s phone, and to monitor the phone’s location, although Pichet denied at a hastily convened press conference Monday that the GPS on his phone was monitored.
Lagacé said he is sure many judges around the world have been asked by police departments to grant similar warrants, but refused because it was too “vulgar” to spy on a reporter. “It was incredibly aggressive,” he said, questioning the judgment of the judge involved.
Warrants obtained in relation to internal investigation
The surveillance warrants were obtained as part of Projet Escouade, which involved allegations that police investigators specializing in street gangs and drug trafficking fabricated evidence. Five police officers were arrested this summer, and two were charged.
One of the officers targeted by Escouade was Fayçal Djelidi. By monitoring his cellphone, Montreal police detected contact between Djelidi and Lagacé, La Presse reported.
Djelidi was arrested in July and is charged with nine counts, including perjury, attempting to obstruct justice, breach of trust by a public officer and obtaining sexual services for consideration.
The controversial outgoing boss of internal affairs at the Montreal police department, Costa Labos, told La Presse that he gave the green light to the surveillance. On Friday it was announced that Labos has been transferred to the telecommunications department, but there is no evidence the move is related to the surveillance controversy.
While Projet Montréal called on the police chief to step aside temporarily to permit an independent investigation, Pichet said Monday it was an “exceptional situation,” which warranted the action.
“I’m saying in an exceptional situation we can use that type of tool,” he said in response to a reporter’s question during a 15-minute press conference at police headquarters Monday.
He said the journalist was never under investigation, it was the police. “We do have a responsibility to investigate all types of crimes involving officers,” he said.
He repeated several times how important freedom of the press is, but said the investigation was of a criminal nature and warranted the measures taken.
“What is important for me is that all regulations were followed,” Pichet said, adding that there are no other similar surveillances to his knowledge.
The police chief also said that Montreal city hall wasn’t involved in the investigation and Coderre found out about it in Monday’s La Presse.
Police met with Lagacé to explain the operation, said Pichet, but Lagacé said he is less concerned with such courtesies than with the principles involved.
“I’m not an investigative journalist and they did this to me,” Lagacé said, adding that after what Pichet said at the press conference “this is now free game and not taboo anymore.”
Coderre blamed for climate of “paranoia”
Calling the spying “worrisome,” Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said his department is looking into whether police followed proper procedures. He said a free press is important but noted that it’s also “important that there is independence between political power, judicial power and the power of police.”
Related
Head of Montreal police department's internal affairs won't face criminal charges
Head of internal affairs for Montreal police under investigation: report
Mayor Denis Coderre troubled by news police were tracking journalist
Editorial: Spying on Montreal reporter an attack on free press
Government must act to protect journalists’ sources
At a press conference, Coderre said he spoke to Pichet on Monday morning to tell him he was troubled by the case. He said he did not ask for details about the Lagacé surveillance or whether police are closely monitoring other reporters.
“There is a process and we have to understand that right now it’s in front of the court and that there’s a judge who signed all the paperwork,” Coderre said.
However, Lagacé said that while Coderre may never have been directly involved in the operation, he blamed the mayor for creating a climate that enabled it to happen — a climate of “paranoia” regarding leaks about the city and pressure on Pichet to curb such incidents.
Éric Trottier, vice-president of information at La Presse, denounced the surveillance, saying it “constitutes an attack against the institution of the press and against the journalistic profession.”
Lawyer Sébastien Pierre-Roy, who is representing La Presse, speaks to reporters at the Montreal Courthouse on Monday, October 31, 2016. Lawyers from La Presse were attempting to obtain documents pertinent to a 24 surveillance warrant on journalist Patrick Lagacé by SPVM police.
Lawyer Sébastien Pierre-Roy, who is representing La Presse, speaks to reporters at the Montreal Courthouse on Monday, October 31, 2016. Lawyers from La Presse were attempting to obtain documents pertinent to a 24 surveillance warrant on journalist Patrick Lagacé by SPVM police. Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette
Sébastien Pierre-Roy, a lawyer representing La Presse, said it may be “the first time in Canada that we’ve learned that a police force has gone so far as to obtain private information from a journalist with the express purpose of identifying one of his sources relevant to that investigation.”
Lagacé said late Monday afternoon that after a long day of doing interviews on the topic, he was still reeling from the whole thing.
“This is uncharted territory,” he said. “I didn’t think something like this could be possible.”
the reporter himself speaking:http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/journalist-patrick-lagace-police-surveillance-spying-1.3828832
La Presse columnist says he was put under police surveillance as part of 'attempt to intimidate'
Police told Patrick Lagacé he was being used as 'tool' in investigation into its own officer, he says
By Kamila Hinkson, Sabrina Marandola, CBC News Posted: Oct 31, 2016 9:32 AM ET| Last Updated: Oct 31, 2016 6:47 PM ET
La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said he was shocked to learn police had him under surveillance.
La Presse columnist Patrick Lagacé said he was shocked to learn police had him under surveillance. (Marie-Ève Soutière/Radio-Canada)
Related Stories
■ Surveillance of Montreal reporter a 'serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada'
■ Major shakeup underway within Montreal police ranks
■ No grounds for charges against police officer accused of lying to a judge
■ Is the Montreal police department in crisis?
■ Prime minister calls Mountie surveillance of reporters a mistake
■ 'It's a scary thing': Vice reporter ordered to turn information over to RCMP
A columnist for Montreal's La Presse newspaper says the city's police have been spying on him for months, as part of an attempt to intimidate members of the police force who want to share information with journalists.
Police obtained 24 warrants this year to track Patrick Lagacé's whereabouts using the GPS chip in his iPhone, and to obtain the identities of everyone he has spoken and messaged with, La Presse reported.
'I lived in this fiction that this could not happen in this country.'
— Patrick Lagacé, La Presse columnist
Lagacé said police told him he was being used as a "tool" in an investigation into one of its own officers.
"I was flabbergasted because I thought that in this country it takes very, very serious motives to track and spy on a journalist like that — motives that are so serious that's it's never happened before," Lagacé said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.
"My metadata was transferred to the police. The police had the right to activate the GPS in my phone — to locate me at any time. I lived in this fiction that this could not happen in this country."
■MORE: Surveillance of reporter a 'serious attack on freedom of the press in Canada'
Lagacé added that he questions the judge's decision.
"What shocks me is that a judge decided this is perfectly normal in a democracy," he said.
"When we start spying on journalists … there are questions to be asked about who the judges are [who are] authorizing these warrants."
The revelations have raised concern among journalism advocacy groups and drawn the attention of anti-surveillance advocates, including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.