Experts cautious of power boost to spy agency

OTTAWA — The federal government will face intense scrutiny — perhaps even a constitutional challenge — when it introduces legislation to give its spies more legal powers, say experts on the work of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney Thursday announced that amendments will come as early as next week to the act governing CSIS, the country’s spy agency.

“We cannot be complacent in the face of terrorism,” said Blaney, who was meeting his provincial counterparts in Banff, Alta. “We are firmly committed to take action against the threat of individuals who become radicalized.”

Blaney said the government will amend the CSIS Act in two ways.

One measure would let CSIS work more closely with its allies in the “Five Eyes” spy network, which is made up of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. This would allow CSIS to obtain information from the others on Canadians fighting abroad with terror groups, and would allow it to help another Five Eyes country track its nationals working with terror groups in Canada.

A second measure would give CSIS informants the same anonymity that exists for police sources, who are not subject to cross-examination and can have their identities hidden, even from trial judges.

“What we’re trying to do is give our sources a class privilege akin to that of law enforcement,” said Andy Ellis, CSIS’s assistant director of operations, citing a “chilling effect” on informants without such protections.

“They’re going to have to be fairly careful in how they draft this,” said Craig Forcese, associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa. “The devil’s in the details in terms of what’s in the bill.”

Both changes come as courts have slammed CSIS’s approach to investigations. Last year, a federal court judge said Five Eyes warrants were being used as a back-door way to spy on Canadians, putting them at risk of being detained abroad.