Careful what you say in Ottawa

GlobalPost

Traveling through Ottawa? You may just have someone listening in on what you have to say —literally. 

Parts of Ottawa International Airport have been wired with microphones monitored by the Canada Border Services Agency, Ottawa Citizen reported.

The agency told the paper it is merely eavesdropping and not recording conversarions "at this time." Recording is expected to come later. 

Some agency employees working at the airport are concerned their conversations could cause them trouble with their bosses, but they may not be able to make a strong enough argument. 

Canada's border agency alreay records both audio and video at other "unidentified" sites at airports and border crossings.

The recordings are allowed under a 2008 law that creates areas in which government recording at certain transit facilities is permitted. The recordings are part of an effort to combat organized crime and smuggling through major Canadian airports. 

But they "aren't necessarily being strategically placed where suspicious people might gather — wherever that might be," CNET said.

There will be signs to warn travelers, but there's no guaranteeing you'll see them before you put your foot in your mouth. 

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