PM's national security adviser says there's been a 'breakdown' in how intelligence is shared

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security and intelligence advis‐ er says that while Canada's security services failed to warn MPs and those at the highest levels of gov‐ ernment about China's in‐ timidation tactics in a timely manner, the break‐ down in that process wasn't the fault of any one person.

"There is no one person. There is no single point of fail‐ ure," Jody Thomas told a par‐ liamentary committee Thurs‐ day morning.

"There was a flaw in the process."

The senior public servant's testimony comes after three MPs publicized information they've received from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service about the Chinese government's campaigns against them — and a week after a report called out seri‐ ous problems with the way the government handles se‐ cret information.

Thomas told the proce‐ dure and House affairs com‐ mittee she only learned re‐ cently that former Conserva‐ tive leader Erin O'Toole and NDP MP Jenny Kwan were tar‐ geted by Beijing.

WATCH | O'Toole rises in House on foreign interfer‐ ence

Thomas told

MPs

CSIS briefed her on these cas‐ es over the "last three to four weeks" and that Trudeau him‐ self only learned about them recently.

"How is that possible?" asked Conservative MP Micheal Cooper. "How is that conceivable?"

"I agree that there needs to be a better management of intelligence that is coming in‐ to deputy ministers' offices, ministers' offices, into the [National Security and Intelli‐ gence Adviser's office], in or‐ der to brief the prime minis‐ ter," Thomas replied.

"I understand completely

that the information that has been leaked to the media or now briefed to members of Parliament is shocking and disturbing to hear. It should not have happened in this matter."

Earlier this week, both O'Toole and Kwan described the briefings they received from CSIS.

O'Toole told the House of Commons Tuesday that CSIS told him he has been an on‐ going target of a Chinese gov‐ ernment campaign of misin‐ formation and "voter sup‐ pression" that covered the last federal election campaign.

Kwan told reporters Mon‐ day that CSIS told her she is an "evergreen" target for Bei‐ jing. Both O'Toole and Kwan said China's government is singling them out over their vocal support for democracy in Hong Kong and for reli‐ gious and cultural minorities in China.

The procedure and House affairs committee has been studying Beijing's intimidation campaigns, including the tar‐ geting of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

No one person to blame: Thomas

In a report released last week, former governor gener‐ al David Johnston — appoint‐ ed by Trudeau as a special rapporteur on foreign inter‐ ference — found evi‐ dence that Chinese officials contemplated taking unspeci‐ fied action against Chong in 2021 and sought to build a profile on him.

Trudeau and Thomas have both said they only learned about the campaign against Chong after the Globe and Mail published a story last month.

Thomas said CSIS sent a memo in July 2021 to three deputy ministers across gov‐ ernment, but the message ef‐ fectively went into a "black hole."

WATCH | 'We have recti‐ fied' how ministers and PM will receive CSIS briefings: Thomas

Thomas, who took over the job of national security adviser in 2022, told MPs on the committee she won't speculate about what hap‐ pened before her tenure.

"I think there was a break‐ down in process. Not only a breakdown in process, I think an insufficient process," she said.

Citing a recent directive to CSIS ordering it to do a better job of informing MPs at risk, Thomas said the process has been "rectified." She also said she's brought in a process to better manage the flow of information at the deputy minister level.

"It is a system that has op‐ erated for years and we are adding structure to it," she said.

Blair didn't receive CSIS note on Chong: report

Johnston's report on for‐ eign interference also found that CSIS sent an "issues man‐ agement note" to the thenpublic safety minister Bill Blair, his chief of staff and his deputy minister in May of 2021. He said the note warned of "intelligence that the [People's Republic of Chi‐ na] intended to target Mr. Chong, another MP, and their family in China (if any)."

Johnston's report conclud‐ ed that neither Blair nor members of his staff received the note because they didn't "have access to the Top Secret Network e-mail on which it was sent."

Blair told the committee that means CSIS authorized him to see the information but CSIS's director deter‐ mined it wasn't information he needed to know. The min‐ ister said that when CSIS wanted to share sensitive in‐ formation with him, it would arrange a briefing at a secure facility.

"I was never notified of the existence of that intelligence," Blair said Thursday, referring to the Chong note.

Outside of committee, Blair said he has "no idea" if his former deputy ever had access to the material and said he doesn't have enough information to say whether CSIS director David Vi‐ gneault is to blame for the in‐ telligence-sharing failures.

Chong told reporters that the failure to notify him that his family might be targeted amounted to a "systemic breakdown in the machinery of government."

"It is certainly the most prominent, but not the only, example of poor information flow and processing between agencies, the public service and ministers," wrote John‐ ston in his report.