OpenMedia has been a watchdog for unjust policy and government actions on the web here in Canada for a long time now. Today they are promoting action against the mass surveillance that is taking place in Canada with The Day We Fight Back. Here’s some more information about what’s happening and what you can do to help.

OpenMedia.ca has joined with experts to call on Big Telecom to come clean about their role helping government spy agency CSEC collect hugely revealing information on thousands of law-abiding Canadians. CSEC has spied on innocent Canadians, even targeting air travellers at Canadian airports.1

Is Big Telecom both price-gouging Canadians and spying on us for the government?

We don’t know and here’s the kicker. Guess who’s footing the enormous bill for this reckless spying behaviour? Turns out Canadian taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars to pay for government spying – yes, that’s BILLION.2

Are our public dollars going to be used to pay Big Telecom to monitor us?

Today is budget day in Ottawa and MPs need to hear from you right now about opposing wasteful and invasive spying on our private lives. Speak out with our easy-to-use tool to tell your local MP exactly where you stand.

What we do know is that Bell has launched an invasive spying scheme to track the Internet activities of all their customers3. The government has also tabled legislation to give them immunity if they hand over our private data to the government.4

If you speak out today you’ll be joining people around the world to stop dragnet government spying on law-abiding citizens.

Today is an international day of action called the ‘Day We Fight Back’ and it’s our best chance to turn the tide on one of the most crucial issues of our time:

Join with thousands of your fellow Canadians and tell your local MP to stop out-of-control spying on our private lives.

We know from experience that when tens of thousands of Canadians join together it has a powerful impact. Today, we’re sending Parliament a message they can’t ignore – stop wasting our tax dollars on reckless Big Telecom spying for the government. The more that take part the stronger our voice – so join us right now, Jordan.

Thank you for being a part of this,
Steve, Josh, and David, on behalf of your OpenMedia.ca team

P.S. Thanks to brave whistleblowers, we know just how far CSEC spying has spiralled out of control – they’re recklessly invading our privacy while dragging Canada’s international reputation through the mud. It’s costing billions and you’re the one picking up the tab. Had enough? Don’t miss this chance to tell your MP where you stand – speak out right now.

Footnotes
[1] CSEC used airport Wi-Fi to track Canadian travellers. Source: CBC News
[2] Inside Canada’s top secret billion dollar spy palace. Source: CBC News
[3] Canadians react to Bell’s latest affront to citizens. Source: OpenMedia.ca
[4] Lawful access is back. Source: Michael Geist