Canada’s spies are working under outdated laws, CSIS director says
The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the spy agency’s powers are “better suited for the threats of the Cold War era” and has called for new powers to address the “significantly more complex” modern threats to the country’s national security.
OTTAWA–The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the spy agency’s powers are “better suited for the threats of the Cold War era” and has called for new powers to address the “significantly more complex” modern threats to the country’s national security.
In a rare public speech on Tuesday, CSIS director David Vigneault said the agency’s powers need to be continually updated to keep pace with espionage methods used by nation states and terrorists.
The call came after the agency has repeatedly clashed with the Federal Court over the scope of its powers and legality of its methods.
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CSIS was created in 1984, but “in 2021, the world has changed significantly, Vigneault noted during an event hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
“The expectations of Canadians have changed, both in terms of privacy and in terms of what they are expecting the government to do to protect them in a more threatening environment,” he said.
“In the last number of years and decades, this dialogue has never really taken place. It is always two options we describe as a ‘zero-sum game’ — it’s either authorities for agencies to spy on people, or full privacy. This is … too simplistic.”
CSIS has been under increased scrutiny from the Federal Court — which authorizes the agency’s intrusive investigative powers — after repeated judgments that criticized the agency for not being fully forthcoming about its methods.
The agency has also faced pressure from the Liberal government for failing its “duty of candour” with the courts when seeking warrants.
The Liberal government significantly updated CSIS’s powers in 2019, including bringing in rules around the agency’s use of data sets. But Vigneault said the agency’s ability to respond to threats must “continue to evolve.”
“We need laws that enable these types of data-driven investigations, carefully constructed to reflect the values we share in our democracy, including assurances of robust privacy protections,” Vigneault said in his prepared remarks.
The CSIS Act, he noted, “sets technological limitations on intelligence collection that were not foreseen by the drafters of the legislation in 1984 and unduly limit our investigations in a modern era.”
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s office did not return a request for comment Tuesday.
In his speech, Vigneault singled out China and Russia as particularly pernicious threats to Canadian national security.
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“The threat does not come from the Chinese people, but rather the government of China that is pursuing a strategy for geopolitical advantage on all fronts — economic, technological, political and military — and using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty,” Vigneault said.
Alex Boutilier is a former national politics reporter with the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau.
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