NDP leader Avi Lewis has called on the Mark Carney government to block a US$125m data-sharing deal between Thomson Reuters and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reported by Canada's National Observer.
Under the deal, ICE will pay Thomson Reuters to access its Clear database, which includes property records, social media and geolocation information, to identify 'voter fraud' and 'immigration fraud'. A procurement document obtained by 404 Media shows Thomson Reuters claims it is the only firm offering ICE 'continuous monitoring' of millions of people.
Lewis demands action
'My blood ran cold when I read about this development,' Lewis said in a statement to the Guardian. 'Complicity between Canadian corporations and ICE should absolutely be illegal.' He urged the federal government to deny export permits for equipment sold to ICE and pull subsidies or contracts from companies dealing with the agency.
Thomson Reuters contracts with ICE date back to 2015, when it began providing access to Clear for tracking people for deportation. Critics have long alleged the databases facilitate human rights abuses. The latest contract is the first to state Clear will support Trump administration objectives on supposed 'voter fraud'.
Company response
A Thomson Reuters spokesperson said the company does not comment on customer contracts, referring to a website page stating there are 'misunderstandings' about Clear, which is licensed 'exclusively to select businesses, law enforcement and government agencies to help expedite investigative processes in legitimate legal investigations'. The company emphasises that 'our investigative solutions are not surveillance tools.'
Joel Bakan, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, said Canada's Special Economic Measures Act could restrict trade related to human rights violations. 'As a matter of realpolitik, I can't imagine the federal government invoking this against the US, but it is at least arguable that ICE has been involved in such violations,' he said.
The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
