OTTAWA — Canada let the US National Security Agency conduct widespread surveillance during the 2010 Group of 20 summit in Toronto, according to a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. report that cited documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The report is the latest potential embarrassment for the NSA as a result of Snowden’s leaks. He has already revealed that the agency spied on close allies such as Germany and Brazil, prompting heated diplomatic spats with Washington.
The CBC report, first aired late on Wednesday, cited briefing notes it said showed the United States turned its Ottawa embassy into a security command post during a six-day spying operation by the NSA as President Obama and other world leaders met that June.
The operation was no secret to Canadian authorities. An NSA briefing note described the operation as “closely coordinated with the Canadian partner,” the report said.
The Canadian equivalent of the NSA is the Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC.
Last month, Brazil angrily demanded an explanation for media reports that said the CSEC’s agents had targeted the South American nation’s mines and energy industry.
The documents did not reveal the precise targets of the NSA operation, but described part of the US eavesdropping agency’s mandate at the Toronto summit as “providing support to policymakers,” the report said.