Canada should be careful about scaling back C-51, ex-CSIS head says
OTTAWA • The former head of Canada’s spy agency says t he f ederal government should “move with caution” in scaling back powers given to CSIS by the former Conservative government, given Monday’s deadly terror attack in Manchester, England.
Richard Fadden, former CSIS director and former prime minister Stephen Harper’s national security adviser, said Canada remains at risk of terrorist attacks.
“I believe the government should move with caution in removing some of the authorities Parliament has given to national security agencies,” he told National Post by email.
“First, because the threat remains real and, secondly, because the additional powers that might be scaled back have not—to my knowledge — either been abused or overused.”
His comments were in response to a suicide bombing that killed 22 people, including children, at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena Monday night. Another 59 people were injured. ISIL has claimed responsibility.
The attack comes as MPs grapple with possible changes to the Harper government’s controversial antiterror law, Bill C- 51, which gave CSIS power to disrupt suspected terrorist plots, instead of simply relaying information to the federal government and the RCMP. The Liberals promised to repeal parts of the law during the 2015 election campaign.
As it stands, the agency must seek a warrant to undertake any threat-reduction activities that might violate Canadians’ Charter rights. But there are few other limits on the actions CSIS can take, provided they don’t cause death or bodily harm.
Earlier this month, a Liberal- and NDP- backed committee report recommended changes to C- 51, including scrapping CSIS’s “ability to violate the Charter.”
It also r ecommended that the intelligence agency “exhaust all other non- disruptive means of reducing threats” before exercising its new powers, and that it work with the RCMP and other police forces to maintain “the traditional distinction” between intelligence gathering and police operations.
The anti- terror law has attracted widespread opposition from the start. Last week, Public Safety Canada released an overview of recent public consultations on national security showing that a majority of respondents want existing se- curity measures “to be scaled back or repealed completely” — particularly Bill C-51.
Still, what limited evidence there is suggests CSIS has been using its new powers responsibly, as Fadden maintains.
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s office was unable to provide an update on the number of possible threats CSIS has disrupted since last year.
“Canada’s threat level remains at medium, and has been unchanged since October 2014,” a spokesperson told National Post by email. “Canada is fundamentally a safe and peaceful nation. We will continue our work to ensure the safety of Canadians and the protection of their rights.”
The government will share its plans to revise the national security law “in the near future,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement early Tuesday morning.
“I was devastated when I heard about the innocent victims who were killed or injured at the Ariana Grande concert tonight in Manchester — many of them far too young,” he said. “We will do all that we can to assist British authorities in bringing those responsible to justice.”
Conservative public safety critic Tony Clement, who was born in Manchester, also weighed in Tuesday.
“The depravity and cowardice of targeting a venue predominantly full of young girls innocently enjoying a concert is shocking,” he said in a statement. “As a father, and as someone who was born in Manchester, I want to express in the strongest possible terms that those responsible must be held accountable.”