QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
March 8, 2023
Senator Gold, the media reports to which Senator Plett and Senator Housakos referred are based entirely on anonymous, unverified sources who are selectively leaking what appears to be classified information. I would point out that senior officials, when asked to comment on this kind of information, have described it as “not truth,” “incomplete” and “rumours.”
The government has gone ahead with the appointment of a special rapporteur, but what is the government doing to investigate not just who broke the law by leaking classified material, but also into the broader effort by elements in and around the intelligence establishment who are using clandestine methods to spread unverified information that subverts our political system and stigmatizes many Chinese Canadians?
Thank you for the question. As you and Senator Housakos pointed out in the context of his question and comments, there are victims in this story, and many are members of the Chinese-Canadian community who are either targeted or vilified.
My understanding is that there is actually an investigation going on with regard to at least some aspects of the disclosure of classified information, but beyond that, in response to your question, I don’t have information with regard to other steps the government may be taking.
In the same vein, Senator Gold, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, NSIRA, recently released a damning report on the way in which CSIS can instruct third parties, such as private corporations, to take action against individuals based on a secret risk assessment without taking responsibility for the adverse effects on individuals and entities.
What is the government doing in response to the NSIRA report to rein in any overreach on the part of our intelligence agencies?
Again, I don’t have the answer, so I won’t speculate as to what the answer would be or whether it would be appropriate to release it.
Having put in place the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, NSICOP, and empowering NSIRA to provide — for the first time, really — a proper, robust review and oversight function of our security services, this government is taking more seriously the importance of civilian oversight and civilian review of our intelligence operations. I think that should give Canadians confidence that if there is wrongdoing, it is going to be explored properly by those best suited to do so.
