CSIS not supposed to be secret service

Re: Judge denies CSIS foreign info request, Feb. 4.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service's continued efforts to assume a responsibility for collecting foreign intelligence abroad is both amazing and sad. CSIS was never intended to have such a role.

That was made clear by Justice D. C. McDonald in his 1981 Commission of Inquiry which ultimately led to the creation of CSIS. McDonald was concerned that assigning dual responsibilities of security and foreign intelligence to one agency would create an “intelligence monolith in a democratic state,” similar to former communist states.

Section 16 permits CSIS to collect foreign intelligence within Canada only in response to specific requests from government. This section permits government to collect from foreign nationals or entities information that falls outside the scope of CSIS's mandate but which may seriously impact Canada's commercial, economic, political or military interests — in other words, foreign intelligence. The “within Canada” limitation was primarily included for the reasons stated by McDonald, not a concern about Canada's international relationships. That was a myth initiated later by Foreign Affairs officials. There is no evidence that the existence of a secret service operating abroad jeopardizes a country's reputation. All prudent democracies have them.

When CSIS was created, there was an expectation — flowing in part from McDonald's advice — that the government would also create a secret service. Section 16 could have been included in the CSIS Act to allow for collaboration in Canada between CSIS and a secret service. Successive governments have ignored McDonald's advice on a secret service, leaving Canada as the poor cousin in the Five Eyes community. Alistair Hensler, assistant director (ret'd) CSIS, Nepean