B.C. man denied NATO clearance to paint warships

Facebook shows links to bikers, drug traffickers

A painter at a B.C. shipyard was denied government security clearance partly because he is Facebook friends with people linked to outlaw bikers and drug traffickers.

Without the security clearance, he is unable to work on large government contracts to refurbish and repair Royal Canadian Navy warships and submarines.

Billy Fitzgerald was an industrial painter working for Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd., based in Esquimalt, where Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is located, home to the Canadian Naval Headquarters in the Pacific.

To work on the naval ships and submarines, he is required to pass a NATO secret security clearance. In 2018, he started that process, seeking the lowest rung on the security clearance ladder, called the reliability status.

The government arranged a face-to-face meeting with two interviewers. He was told they wanted to discuss his “past, including finances, associates, personal conduct and travels. Most notably we will be discussing your criminal convictions.”

Fitzgerald had some convictions, some dating back 18 years. Three of them are for possession of a drug, two for possession of a drug for the purpose of trafficking.

At the interview, however, his interviewers seemed particularly interested in some of his Facebook friends. The interviewers' Google search of the names spat out lurid entries on alleged connections to cocaine, streets gangs, bikers, international cartels and U.S. prison gangs.

One friend, the interviews found, is described on a blog as the “biggest player” in the province's drug trade who “likely” works with members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Other friends, who are brothers, are linked to Mexican narco cartels, say court documents that redact the names of the friends.

Fitzgerald talked it over with the interviewers.

Their conclusion was that Fitzgerald was “dishonest and lacking credibility” and the interview did not relieve concerns over his “criminal history and associates.”

They were concerned that if his security status was approved, he would “have access to military personnel including persons with access to weapons, ammunition and sensitive information,” court documents say.

The final decision to deny him his security status was made by the director of Industrial Personnel Security Services, part of Public Services and Procurement Canada. It is an agency that checks employees of companies awarded government contracts that involve access to protected or classified information, assets and work sites.

There are four levels of clearance: reliability status, secret, top secret, and enhanced security screening.

The director's decision said Fitzgerald's Facebook profile “revealed his association with multiple individuals who, based on publicly available information, had been arrested for drug trafficking and have connections to formal organized crime groups.”

Fitzgerald appealed his denial of a clearance to the Federal Court, arguing the decision was unfair and unreasonable.

He complained he had no idea he would be asked about his Facebook friends, and objected to them being described as “associates.” He complained the decision did not take into account his age and maturity when he was convicted and that his interview behaviour was described as evasive and dishonest.

Judge Michael Phelan disagreed.

The director's decision “was transparent, intelligible and on these facts, justifiable,” Phelan ruled in his decision, released Wednesday. Fitzgerald's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

The issue of security clearances interfering with employment is usually seen over airport workers, who require a security check to access secure areas of airports.

Several airport employees have lost their clearance, and their jobs, over concerns over associates and actions.

One woman lost her job as an airport grounds worker in Vancouver because she had contact with a member of the Hells Angels. That contact was court-ordered: her former husband, a biker, had visitation rights with their shared child.

TRANSPARENT, INTELLIGIBLE

AND ON THESE FACTS, JUSTIFIABLE.