The Canadians attack at Vimy Ridge. Image from Library and Archives Canada
A guttering candle burned low in the cubicle of Sergeant-Major X. It was 2 AM at National Defence Headquarters. No end was in sight.
Sergeant-Major X regarded the candle grimly. He had volunteered his services to the Canadian Forces after retirement, thinking perhaps of a job at Vimy Ridge, explaining the battle in both official languages. Failing that, he imagined counselling returning soldiers traumatized by battlefield experiences, or even recruiting volunteers by describing the importance, and indeed honour, or serving in the Canadian military.
Instead, he'd been installed in this cubicle - the Black Hole of Ottawa - and asked , ordered, whatever, to remove "sensitive" material from thousands of pages of DND documents relating to Afghanistan. It was an ambiguous assignment - he was starting to think deliberately so. He'd seen it before at the Somalia Inquiry. So far, nobody had suggested shredding anything, but it was only a matter of time, he thought.
A large pile of unredacted documents was to his left, a smaller pile of redacted documents to his right.
He had started with a fountain pen and a bottle of India ink. Then, he'd used Sharpies, modified by filing them down to a blunt edge that could obliterate two lines at a time. Then he'd gone to Canadian Tire for paint rollers and tins of Midnight Black.
For guidance, he had Section 15 of the Access to Information Act:
International affairs and defence
15. (1) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, any such information
(a) relating to military tactics or strategy, or relating to military exercises or operations undertaken in preparation for hostilities or in connection with the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities;
(b) relating to the quantity, characteristics, capabilities or deployment of weapons or other defence equipment or of anything being designed, developed, produced or considered for use as weapons or other defence equipment;
(c) relating to the characteristics, capabilities, performance, potential, deployment, functions or role of any defence establishment, of any military force, unit or personnel or of any organization or person responsible for the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities;
(d) obtained or prepared for the purpose of intelligence relating to
(i) the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada, or
(ii) the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities;
(e) obtained or prepared for the purpose of intelligence respecting foreign states, international organizations of states or citizens of foreign states used by the Government of Canada in the process of deliberation and consultation or in the conduct of international affairs;
(f) on methods of, and scientific or technical equipment for, collecting, assessing or handling information referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) or on sources of such information;
(g) on the positions adopted or to be adopted by the Government of Canada, governments of foreign states or international organizations of states for the purpose of present or future international negotiations;
(h) that constitutes diplomatic correspondence exchanged with foreign states or international organizations of states or official correspondence exchanged with Canadian diplomatic missions or consular posts abroad; or
(i) relating to the communications or cryptographic systems of Canada or foreign states used
(i) for the conduct of international affairs,
(ii) for the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada, or
(iii) in relation to the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities.
Definitions
(2) In this section,
“defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada”
« défense du Canada ou d’États alliés ou associés avec le Canada »
“defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada” includes the efforts of Canada and of foreign states toward the detection, prevention or suppression of activities of any foreign state directed toward actual or potential attack or other acts of aggression against Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada;
“subversive or hostile activities”
« activités hostiles ou subversives »
“subversive or hostile activities” means
(a) espionage against Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada,
(b) sabotage,
(c) activities directed toward the commission of terrorist acts, including hijacking, in or against Canada or foreign states,
(d) activities directed toward accomplishing government change within Canada or foreign states by the use of or the encouragement of the use of force, violence or any criminal means,
(e) activities directed toward gathering information used for intelligence purposes that relates to Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada, and
(f) activities directed toward threatening the safety of Canadians, employees of the Government of Canada or property of the Government of Canada outside Canada.
1980-81-82-83, c. 111, Sch. I “15”.
The night wore on. Sergeant-Major X did his best. Dawn crept slowly to the Ottawa sky. It was done: 8,000 randomly redacted pages. No country could ask for more.
