A government spy shot in silhouette complains in a union ad campaign that national security is compromised by a plan to contract out dozens of agency jobs in Ottawa.
A public-service union is using Google to pose a pointed question to top Conservatives: Why are they putting Canada's national security "up for sale?"
Starting Friday, anyone who Googles "Nigel Wright," "Peter MacKay" or other prominent federal Tories will see a sponsored ad sending them to Securityforsale.ca.
There, a government spy shot in silhouette complains that national security is compromised by a plan to contract out dozens of spy-service jobs in Ottawa: "Where are our assurances that these people will have the same loyalties?"
It's part of massive publicity campaign focused on jobs inside one of Canada's most secretive and unheralded institutions - Communications Security Establishment Canada.
The electronic-eavesdropping agency sucks up Internet, telephone and satellite signals in order to spy on foreign terrorist threats and safeguard government computer systems against hostile hackers. For months, the union representing CSEC has been quietly fighting a government plan to outsource 90 low-level jobs to a private consortium that's building a new billion-dollar headquarters for the agency.
CSEC managers argue that these 90 jobs (which include security guards, tech-support staff and facilities-management crews) can be safely outsourced without compromising state secrets. They say the contracting out comes without risk since it doesn't involve technicians, computer scientists or cryptographers - all of whom are sworn to lifetime secrecy upon joining CSEC.
The union that represents some 1,700 signals-spy service workers argues that putting a rotating cast of contractors in close proximity to top secret files is beyond foolhardy. To make the case, it is rolling out newspaper ads and radio spots.
It's also purchasing Google AdWords to target the prominent political figures backstopping the decision. This includes blaming Mr. Wright, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, and Mr. MacKay, among others, for the looming spillage of state secrets.
"Nigel Wright are you sure you locked up this AM? Yes? So why are we open to attack?," reads one ad. "Peter MacKay, outsourced work won't fly. It's creating a security risk," reads another.
The strategy was partly devised by Ian Capstick, a former political staffer who now runs a media consultancy. He said Google AdWords have been purchased for Dimitri Soudas, Stephen Harper's communications director; deputy chief of staff Derek Vanstone; and other staffers in the Prime Minister's Office. The strategy also targets certain bureaucrats involved in the outsourcing decision.
The union says it is going public because its behind-closed-door efforts to sway the government to keep the jobs have failed. "We've exhausted every other option," Union of National Defence Employees president John MacLennan said.
UNDE, an arm of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, represents employees of the signals-intelligence agency. CSEC is, in turn, technically a branch of the Department of National Defence, which is now looking to cut budgets and jobs.
The new CSEC headquarters is raising eyebrows in Ottawa for its impressive design and hefty price tag. It will cost at least $880-million to build from the ground up, even as larger security agencies such as DND proper and the RCMP are purchasing second-hand headquarters for less money.
Experts caution that buildings that house code-crunching cryptological agencies are not like standard buildings: They consume vast amounts of electricity, they warehouse legions of computers, and they have to be shielded to ensure no radio waves stray outside the complex's confines.
CSEC has also signed an agreement with Australia-based Plenary Group to build and manage the facilities over the next 30 years, a plan that includes privatizing the 90 jobs now being done by government workers. The union says the broader private-public partnership deal between Ottawa and Plenary will cost taxpayers $5-billion in coming decades - on top of the initial construction costs.