From June 29, 2003.

Radwanski seems to have disappeared down the Memory Hole) Last week, Canada's Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski was hounded from office amid a firestorm of allegations about expense account abuses. Press hacks and politicians continue to nip at his heels accusing him of misleading parliament and intimidating his staff. !ne "ember of Parliament suggested he deserved #ail time or even execution. $hy such ferocity% George Radwanski had been a valiant and elo&uent opponent of the Canadian government's new initiatives for repressive public surveillance. 'is courageous leadership is the reason he has been tarred and feathered. (he real scoundrels are the Canadian politicians and press who have ab#ectly betrayed the public trust. )n *anuary +,,-. Radwanski warned Canadians that the government regrettably has lost its moral compass. /lthough Canada hasn't had a terrorist attack. planned initiatives will result in the loss not only of privacy rights that we take for granted but also of ... freedom as we now know it. 'e warned 0eptember 11 is being invoked as a kind of magic incantation to stifle debate. disparage critical analysis and persuade us that we suddenly live in a new world where the old rules cannot apply. (he Government is doing all this in blatant. open and repeated disregard of the concerns that it is my duty to express... Radwanski said. 'e revealed that /merican pressure was to blame. and urged Canadians to assert their sovereignty. (he right of privacy is at the core of the basic freedoms of our society. 2reedom of speech. of thought. of association. to name #ust a few. are grounded in the idea that we have a private sphere of thought and action that is our business and nobody else's 33 not our neighbours'. not our employers'. not some telemarketer's. and certainly not the state's. )n Canada today that fundamental human right is under unprecedented assault. 'e foresaw the potential uses of surveillance for political repression. $hile only thousands march against globali4ation today. what if millions wanted to demonstrate in the future% Radwanski compared the war on terror to !rwell's 19 !, which takes place against the background of a mysterious chronic war in which it is never clear #ust who the enemy is or who is winning or losing. 'is office was becoming an international leader in privacy protection and a thorn in George 5ush's side. )t focused opposition to the monitoring of communications. biometric passports and identity cards. video surveillance and genetic databases. "y trips to the 60 enabled me to raise awareness among /merican decision3makers about Canada's different approach to privacy rights. Radwanski said in his resignation statement. 0everal members of the 60 Congress expressed an interest in creating an /merican position of Privacy Commissioner along the Canadian model. (his resignation statement has been removed from the Privacy Commission web site. 0oviet3style. Radwanski is already becoming a non3person.

C/7/8/'0 8)0GR/C9 )n a supposedly civili4ed country. George Radwanski was not given a fair and impartial hearing. 7o one in authority came to his defence. 7o one made the obvious connection between his sensitive political stand and his removal. (his is the state of public discourse today. (he whole episode smacks of a carefully orchestrated operation. Politicians of all stripes and virtually the whole press corps fell into line like geese. (ypical of the press' prescience were disingenuous editorials like Gorg'in George 'ad to Go and Radwanski's :ainglorious Reign Crumbles. "he "oronto #tar had an editorial 0unday ;*une +<) entitled Good from Radwanski. 8id it take note of his warnings% 7o. (he good referred to more scrutiny of future appointments like his and protection for the whistle blowers who revealed his expense account anomalies. (he vicious swarming of a dedicated public defender sets a bad precedent. )t suggests the fate of anybody with influence that stands in 5ig 5rother's way. $e may assume that any target of media defamation is a genuine defender of democratic ideals. )n the years prior to the murderous Reign of (error and the 2rench Revolution. the *acobins used vile and unscrupulous smear campaigns like this one to eliminate opponents. (his process was known as ='infamie. R/8$/70>)'0 9RR!R0 / former 9ditor of the "oronto #tar. George Radwanski was a speechwriter and consultant to Canadian Prime "inister *ean Chretien who appointed him to the seven3 year term as Privacy Commissioner in +,,,. Radwanski made good use of his connections. Prior to accepting his ?+1,.,,, per annum #ob in +,,,. he declared bankruptcy and was forgiven @AB of ?A@,.,,, in tax arrears. /lthough these write3offs are pretty common. this one has suddenly become an issue. Radwanski also made good use of his government expense account. )n +,,+3,-. he and his ;female) Communications 8irector apparently spent ?+CD.,,, on travel. including 1, foreign trips. )n one instance. the pair is accused of going to Paris #ust five days after returning from there. Radwanski is also accused of paying up to ?EA, for business lunches and trying to mislead a Parliamentary Committee about these excesses. Radwanski travelled for an average of -, formal speeches a year and claims his conduct and expenses can be #ustified. ) have at all times conducted myself with honor and integrity. he said. 'e asked for an impartial review by the /uditor General but was denied. ) am unable to properly defend myself and set the record straight because of the process deliberately prevents me from doing so. he said. (he Canadian political class is notorious for feasting at the public trough. "any examples could be cited. (he Prime "inister secured a large interest3free loan for a hotel with which he had personal dealings. / former Public $orks minister gave ?+ million in &uestionable contracts to an advertising firm with close party ties. 'e got an

ambassadorship. (he cost of Canada's unpopular and unnecessary gun registry was supposed to be ?+ million. )nstead it has ballooned to ?1 billion. mostly boondoggle and patronage. Gary $ebster. its former head. piled up more than ?+,<.,,, in travel and hotel bills commuting between 9dmonton and !ttawa over two years. 'e still has a senior government position. Radwanski's excesses. real or imagined. are pretty common. 'e has been targeted for his political stand. 'is possible indiscretions pale in comparison to the vital work he was doing. $hile Canadians focus on lunch money. we are losing our priceless birthright and that of future generations. 8!)7G ')0 *!5 (!! $9== George Radwanski doubtlessly became a marked man in *anuary when he delivered his +,,13+,,+ /nnual Report. 'ere are some excerptsF (he fundamental human right of privacy in Canada is under assault as never before. 6nless the Government of Canada is &uickly dissuaded from its present course by Parliamentary action and public insistence. we are on a path that may well lead to the permanent loss not only of privacy rights but also important elements of freedom as we now know it... (he Government is. &uite simply. using 0eptember 11 as an excuse for new Gsurveillance databasesH that cannot be #ustified by the re&uirements of anti3terrorism and that. indeed. have no place in a free and democratic society... (hese are not abstract or theoretical concerns. )f these measures are allowed to go forward... there is a very real prospect that before long our lives here in Canada will look like thisF /ll our travels outside Canada will be systematically recorded. tracked and analy4ed for signs of anything that the Government might find suspicious or undesirable. 5ig 5rother dossiers of personal information about every law3 abiding Canadian... will be kept by the federal Government and will be available to virtually every federal department and agency... /ny time we travel within Canada. we will have to identify ourselves to police so that their computers can check whether we are wanted for anything or are otherwise of interest to the state. Police and security will be able to access records of every e3mail we send and every cellular phone call we make. )nformation on what we read on the )nternet. every $eb site and page we visit. will likewise be readily available to government authorities. $e will all be fingerprinted or retina3scanned by the Government. (his biometric information will be on compulsory national )8 cards that will open the way to being stopped in the streets by police and re&uired to identify ourselves on

demand. !ur movements through the public streets will be relentlessly observed through proliferating police video surveillance cameras. 9ventually. these cameras will likely be linked to biometric face3recognition technologies that will match our on3 screen images to file photos 33 from such sources as drivers' licences. passports or )8 cards 33 and enable the police to identify us by name and address as we go about our law3abiding business in the streets.

7ow ) am informing Parliament that ... governmental disregard for crucially important privacy rights is moving beyond isolated instances and becoming systematic. (he bottom line is thisF )f we have to live our lives weighing every action. every communication. every human contact. wondering what agents of the state might find out about it. analy4e it. #udge it. possibly misconstrue it. and somehow use it to our detriment. we are not truly free. (hat sort of life is characteristic of totalitarian countries. not a free and open society like Canada. 5ut that is where we are inexorably headed. if the Government's current initiatives are allowed to proceed. C!7C=60)!7 7o one can read this excerpt without being ashamed. /s Canadians. we have behaved like little children. $e have clapped while our champion has been struck down and humiliated. $e will discover that our freedom is a lot easier to s&uander than it is to regain. $e don't recogni4e the danger facing us because conditions are still pretty good. 5ut these measures are not planned for good times. (hey are designed for the bad times that are in store. 0ept. 11 was an audacious act on the part of the world's financial elite. )t served the double purpose of providing an excuse to sub#ugate the "uslim world while at the same time creating an enemy to #ustify political repression at home. (he crumbling twin towers signaled the final stage in a long3term plan for a world police state governed by the superrich. (he 7ew $orld !rder is the work of the devil. and Canadians brought it a step closer last week.