New International Dance; Everyone's Doing It!

"The report points to Canadian interests in mining. The (Brazilian Foreign Ministry) will demand explanations from Canada."
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

"Canada has interests in Brazil, above all in the mining sector. I can't say if the spying served corporate interests or other groups."
Brazilian Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao

"Like any crime drama, you look for capability and intent. Could CSEC do Brazil? Of course, it has significant capability to collect intelligence in the national interest. But on motive, you come up way short. If it was Iran, nobody would be surprised. But this is Brazil. I'm really short on motive.
"If you look at the document, it looks like really more a case of a scenario-building exercise. We were all too busy chasing bad guys who can actually kill people. The idea that we spend a lot of time, or any time at all, on a country like Brazil is pretty low margin stuff, not likely to happen.
"They have to do paper exercises and say, 'OK, let' say our target in counter-terrorism lives in Mali and we have to go up against the Malian telecommunications system.' They'll go look at another country and say, 'OK, well they have a similar network so let's do a paper exercise and say, 'What do we need?' I think that's all this was.
Ray Boisvert, former director general, counter-terrorism, Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Government of Canada has focused deeply on strengthening trade ties with a multitude of countries. It's looking toward a Canada-EU deal, a Canada-Trans Pacific Partnership deal, and another to enhance trade relations with China, and then there's the BRICS nations with their reputation as booming economic countries steaming up the horizon. Canada already has quite a lot of interest in Brazil, Canadian mining operations are some of the largest in the world and there are a number of operations in Brazil.

The mischief that Edward Snowden, with his outraged sense of righteousness, in making use of a finger-drive to lift thousands of secret intelligence documents in his position as a secure contractor with American intelligence, has already had far-reaching consequences. The sanctimony of Snowden, along with that of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, translates as honourable intentions by those who support their counter-government intelligence enterprise, seeming to believe that by airing Western countries' purported dirty linen they are doing a great public service.

What they are doing is indulging their self-righteously harmful inner sense of self as social liberator from the hypocrisies of government agencies whose agendas appear to offend them. They don't seem to engage overlong in the kind of introspection that might introduce them to the consequences of their revelations or the alternatives to the governments whose agendas they decry. In any event, this incident where Brazil is said to have been made aware through their own TV network that Brazil was targeted for espionage by the "Five Eyes" membership spy agencies, has sent Brazil into a tizzy of indignation.

It would be amazing if Brazil did not itself engage in espionage. The simple fact of realpolitik is that all countries do engage in subterfuge and spying on others, friends and foes alike in an attempt to ensure they are not caught out by any nasty surprises - mostly along the lines of political-security espionage. It would be hugely surprising if Canadian government security agencies were flat-footed enough to be conducting industrial espionage, a kind of conduct that hasn't the same reputation as security-related espionage. It smacks of a kind of unsavoury enterprise.

It's the kind of underhanded but common enough enterprise that Canada and its agencies relate to China, a great hulking absorber-and-lifter of others' technological inventions, technical blueprints, industrial momentum, and investment opportunities. The Brazilian network, Globo had been able to obtain a copy of a slide presentation by CSEC, introduced at a 2012 meeting of the "Five Eyes" group of intelligence agencies from Canada, the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Would they all be fascinated by data picked up relating to Brazil's mines and energy?

How does one spell doubt it?

"Mining companies need their governments from time to time to navigate challenges we get, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't spy on people we need for permits" offered Ann Wilkinson, head of investor relations, Colossus Minerals Inc., engaged in developing a Brazilian gold mine. "I would have thought there was no economic or political nexus that would suggest to either country to want to know about the other", said Peter Marrone, chief executive of Yamana Gold Inc., pointing out that the mining processes of each country are "very distinct".

"Canada is not the only country engaged in foreign economic intelligence collection. What is more surprising is that the Brazilians seem to be indicating the absence of any counter-intelligence capacity on their part; i.e., a capability to protect sensitive, high value information against international espionage", appeared to be the considered, alternate opinion of distinguished research professor emeritus at Carleton University, Martin Rudner. Who points out that though CSEC is permitted the collection of intelligence relating to foreign governments, its activities are reviewed by a retired senior judge.

Seems more likely that Brazil is engaging in a bit of sophomoric naivete; espionage of all kinds is known to exist simply because everyone knows it does on the evidence and the assumptions based on the evidence. It's one of those embarrassing situations where you don't want it revealed in public. While the governments may know what occurs, their populations don't necessarily, and on the evidence being revealed feel vulnerable and angry, leaving their governments no alternative but to blow hot on cold issues.