• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) & Canadian foreign intelligence capability (or lack th

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yard Ape
  • Start date Start date
Y

Yard Ape

Guest
From the CSIS Web site:
[qb] The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was created by an Act of Parliament in 1984, following the McDonald Commission of Inquiry of the late 1970s and the MacKenzie Commission of the 1960s. The CSIS Act established a clear mandate for the Service and, for the first time, legislated a framework of democratic control and accountability for a civilian Canadian security intelligence service. The Act created CSIS as a domestic service fulfilling a uniquely defensive role investigating threats to Canada‘s national security.

In meeting its mandated commitments, CSIS provides advance warning to government departments and agencies about activities which may reasonably be suspected of constituting threats to the country’s security. Other government departments and agencies, not CSIS, have the responsibility to take direct action to counter the security threats.

. . .

A security intelligence service is restricted to investigating threats to its country’s national security. A foreign intelligence service, on the other hand, conducts offensive operations for its government in foreign countries. The methods and objectives of foreign intelligence services differ from country to country.

. . .
[/qb]

Does anybody here think Canada could be better served by an Intelligence Service with both a forgien and a domenstic mandate?
 
Sharpen those little grey cells
Canada can‘t join the war on terrorism or protect itself unless we upgrade our intelligence capabilities, says international security analyst WESLEY WARK
By WESLEY WARK
Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Globe & Mail

As the United States and its allies gird for a long-term war against terrorism, we will hear much about the role of intelligence and security services. This will be a "war in the shadows," a war between intelligence agencies and their elusive terrorist foes.

Some U.S. commentators, such as Robert Kaplan, say that intelligence communities are entering a "golden age," like the 1950s, when the Central Intelligence Agency under legendary spymaster Allen Dulles was unleashed on the world. Whether the massive U.S. intelligence community, with its armies of analysts, its global reach, its astounding array of high-technology spy platforms, will truly enjoy a "golden age" will depend on their ability to recover from the unprecedented intelligence failure of Sept. 11 -- a more serious wound than Pearl Harbor. They will also have to earn the trust of a shaken and skeptical military and political leadership about their ability to find the terrorist enemy and render it vulnerable.

Will the Canadian intelligence community also undergo profound changes that will thrust it into the forefront of the war on terrorism? Two matters require serious consideration: the current state of the Canadian intelligence system and the question of what functions it might perform in a global war on terrorism.

Intelligence is the first and most important line of defence against terrorism and the first and most important weapon in any offensive against terrorism. Without it, there can be no early warning, no prevention, no deterrence, no wisdom in decision-making, and no hope of catching the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Commentators frequently confuse the issue by assuming that what intelligence agencies do is spy -- James Bond stuff. Intelligence agencies function to process information, a vast proportion of which comes from what is called "open sources," available to any literate newspaper reader or Internet searcher. Agencies not only collect information, they analyze it. They must have the capacity to deliver that analyzed information to decision-makers in a timely and credible format.

The Canadian intelligence community is, in my view, too weak at every stage in this intelligence process. It lacks resources, both human and technological, to collect the intelligence it requires. More importantly, it lacks a sufficient body of highly skilled analysts to make sense of the information that floods into its databases. Perhaps most important of all, it lacks the ear of senior government decision-makers.

Ottawa must take two steps that it has long debated, but never acted on. It must create a well-resourced, powerful central organization for intelligence analysis (the best model might be the Australian Office of National Assessments). At present, the material produced by a tiny cadre of intelligence officers hidden away in the Privy Council Office, however good, lacks influence.

And Ottawa must create a Canadian foreign intelligence service, similar to the CIA or Britain‘s Secret Intelligence Service, the SIS. Canada is the only G8 nation without such a service. This hampers our ability to understand foreign developments, and to contribute meaningfully to any global war on terrorism. At the moment, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has a limited mandate for foreign-intelligence collection, is tied up in red tape and hamstrung by lack of resources and expertise. As we debate the creation of a Canadian secret service, we must decide whether CSIS is the appropriate body to take on this difficult mission.

The most secretive institution in the Canadian security and intelligence community is the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), a bland title that hides an institution responsible for foreign-communications intelligence and the protection of government-communications networks. It will need more resources and a significant technological upgrade to operate at the same level as its sister organizations, the National Security Agency in the United States and GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) in the United Kingdom.

Moreover, CSE needs to rethink its policy of downgrading analytical reporting in favour of high-tech collection. Most significant of all is the question of whether, in the new world we have just entered, CSE will need powers to spy within Canada -- something it is now legally forbidden to do.

These measures are only part of what is needed to ensure a wholesale shakeup of the Canadian security and intelligence system. If Canada is unable to contribute significantly in the security and intelligence field to the war on terrorism, two things will happen. Our country will become increasingly vulnerable to terrorist action, as a safe haven or even as a target; and Canada will lose something it has cherished for more than 50 years -- membership in the tightly-knit alliance that links us to the United States, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Were that to happen, the Canadian security and intelligence community could pack its bags and look for other work.

Wesley K. Wark is a professor of international history at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto
 
I can tell you......on the record, that I know of someone personally who is with CSIS who is working outside of Canada......wont say where, but rest assured, there are CSIS agents all over the place............

:cdn:
 
I always heard CSIS was one of the better intel agencies in the world
 
I wish. No, due again to lack of Government support, it is relatively ineffective. It is essentially an analyst agency - ie, takes what the CIA, SIS, and CNN give them and examine it and then give reports to the government. It has no mandate to work outside of Canada.
A few years ago a woman who as I recall was in the process of being hired left classified documents in her car at a sports game and they were stolen. Considering that‘s about the only time they made news in the past few years - except to warn that Canada is full of terrorists - they‘re either the most effective intelligence service in the world, or they aren‘t doing much.

Check out:
www.fas.org/irp/world/canada/csis/index.html
 
Cabinet considers setting up international spy agency
Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief, with files from Robert Benzie
National Post, with files from news services
04 Sept 01

OTTAWA - The United States yesterday appealed for "collective assistance" from its 18 NATO allies in preparation for a military campaign against Osama bin Laden and the Taleban government that harbours the Muslim extremist‘s al-Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan.

While Canada has not yet been asked for a specific military contribution, senior Cabinet ministers say it is already providing Washington with "vital intelligence" to hunt down members of bin Laden‘s terrorist organization.

The Cabinet is also contemplating the creation of a foreign spy agency to help Canada‘s allies attack terrorism abroad. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which is responsible for domestic security, is forbidden by law from overseas espionage.

Lawrence MacAulay, the Solicitor-General, said yesterday a foreign spy service "would give us more ability to collect more information about other countries overseas."

Art Eggleton, the Minister of Defence, maintained the United States is relying heavily on Canada for intelligence gathering and analysis.

He said it is possible Washington might ask Canadian soldiers to fill the gap left if American peacekeepers are withdrawn from the Balkans to fight in the Middle East.

Paul Cellucci, the U.S. Ambassador, has already suggested Canada might help by replacing U.S. troops on duty in the former Yugoslavia.

"It‘s certainly up for consideration. The question of back-filling has had some consideration and will continue to do so. That‘s not to say we will do it, but we‘re certainly going to consider that," Mr. Eggleton told reporters.

However, Mr. Eggleton said Canada‘s biggest contribution since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is security and intelligence.

Mr. Eggleton said CSIS and military intelligence have provided crucial information to U.S. authorities, including assessing raw overseas signals collected by the highly secretive Communications Security Establishment (CSE).

"There has been a flood of intelligence information coming into the system of which we are partners with the United States and a few other countries in terms of gathering the information and analysis of it, and we have been assisting the Americans in the analysis, which is a very vital role," Mr. Eggleton said.

Mr. Cellucci confirmed the United States is impressed with the intelligence work provided by Canada‘s security agencies and the RCMP.

"The co-operation between U.S. intelligence and Canadian intelligence has been extraordinary. It‘s always been very good. It‘s been extraordinary since Sept. 11," Mr. Cellucci said.

CSE, which is part of the Department of National Defence, has been eavesdropping electronically on hostile foreign governments and terrorist organizations. Canada shares a powerful and mysterious Echelon telecommunications network with the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, which is able to pick up telephone, e-mail and other electronic communications.

Stewart Woolner, the former head of CSE, said the electronic surveillance agency collects raw intelligence, which is turned over to Foreign Affairs, National Defence and the Privy Council for analysis. This would then be passed on to the U.S. intelligence services.

"I certainly do know that organizations like CSE will be scanning every piece of relevant information that they can get their hands on," he said.

Reid Morden, the former CSIS director, said the spy agency would have valuable information on Islamic extremists organizations operating in Canada based on eavesdropping and undercover work.

Mr. Morden noted CSIS had told the government many years ago that Muslim terrorists poised a threat to North American security, although these warning went unheeded.

"The service has been telling people there is a problem out there for some time and, in the last few years, it has been pinpointing the fact that it is Islamic fundamentalism on the top of the pops on their radar," he said.

Despite the intelligence information provided to the United States since Sept. 11, security experts say there is an urgent need for a comprehensive review of Canada‘s intelligence capabilities.

Wesley Wark, a University of Toronto professor and past-president of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies, said the government needs to devote more resources to intelligence gathering.

"The military intelligence function of the Department of National Defence exists in a technological Stone Age," he said. "We have no spy satellites, no spy planes, no remote-controlled reconnaissance drones, nothing but antiquated secure communications networks."

____________________________________________

Check out CSIS.
 
If anyone here wants a good picture of CSIS read Official Secrets by Richard Cleroux. It‘s a bit dated (written in 1990) but it gives a good history of CSIS as well as some interesting stories and a good section on their selection & training. Appearently they had spy school established at CFB Borden.

Anyway, it‘s an iteresting book if you want to learn more about CSIS.
 
Enfield is correct, CSIS does not have an external security mandate...............................OFFICIALLY................................however, as I stated, agents are collecting intel and are working very closely with such agencies as MI5, Moussad, and others. And as I stated, I know someone personally working for the agency who is presently in a country in Africa. Dont believe the govt hasnt gone against any of there policies in the past or wont in the future...........

:cdn:
 
LOL, but MP811, I would guess, is right. It‘s like the JTF2. It‘s the way we do things in Canada.
 
Do you mean get out of the embassy on work related duties??.......................dont really know to be honest............SHE‘s a really good friend of mine, but she doesnt tell me everything!!!!!!!!!!!.............lol

:cdn:
 
I think we all need to realize that liason and sharing of information with other nations intelligence services does not count as foriegn intelligence. I am further disturbed by Mr Manleys comments that the CIA can do it for us. . . we should look after our own responsibilities.

___________________________________________

Manley willing to debate foreign spy agency
Wednesday, October 17
By ALLISON LAWLOR
Globe and Mail Update

Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley told the House of Commons on Wednesday that he remains open to debating the merits of a permanent foreign intelligence agency but isn‘t certain it is the answer to fighting terrorism.

"A full-scale, highly funded foreign intelligence agency is not the only solution to the problems that exist with respect to terrorism," Mr. Manley said. "If so, the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] would have prevented the attacks of Sept. 11."

Commenting during Question Period, Mr. Manley responded to a call from Fraser Valley MP Chuck Strahl for Ottawa to allocate sufficient money and personnel to create such an agency.

The current head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service — Canada‘s spy agency — can only collect information when he can afford to, Mr. Strahl said during Question Period.

Progressive Conservative MP Peter MacKay also pressed the government on the issue saying Canada is the only G7 country that doesn‘t have a permanent intelligence gathering agency.

"We need to look at whether we need to increase foreign intelligence," Mr. Manley said.

Earlier this month, Solicitor-General Lawrence MacAulay, the minister responsible for CSIS, told the Commons that the government would allocate whatever money it thinks is needed to improve intelligence collection.

But Mr. MacAulay would not say whether a new foreign spy service will be created.
 
Yard Ape said:
Does anybody here think Canada could be better served by an Intelligence Service with both a forgien and a domenstic mandate?
Steve Harper sees a seperate intelligence service:
Steve Harper
international spy

CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, January 07, 2006


TORONTO -- Canada would join the international cloak-and-dagger business through a separate foreign spy agency set up by a Conservative government, Stephen Harper said Friday.

The new organization would have a mandate to spy overseas and "independently counter threats before they reach Canada," according documents released by the Conservatives.

"We're going to create a distinct organization through legislation," Harper said.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service -- the country's existing civilian spy agency -- operates on the domestic front, but has mounted specific operations in other countries.

 
CSIS does indeed operate outside of Canada, in fact I believe they came out publically about this like 2 years ago.  I believe I read it in the National Post or the Globe and Mail.  I've heard that there are CSIS agents in Afghanistan and they've been trained by the CF and are carrying arms there.
 
b00161400 said:
CSIS does indeed operate outside of Canada, in fact I believe they came out publically about this like 2 years ago.  I believe I read it in the National Post or the Globe and Mail.  I've heard that there are CSIS agents in Afghanistan and they've been trained by the CF and are carrying arms there.
well, correct me if I'm wrong, but if Parliament establishes a framework in which they must operate (ie-defence ops against threats national security, does not act themselves, other agencies do, etc.), and they violate those 'rules', then the head of CSIS can swing for that, not to mention everyone right down to the operative doing the job. What I'm saying is that they might want to act like say, the CIA, moussad, etc., and you might want them to be able to participate in offensive ops, but they can't and likely don't.

What I gather from their website and all I've ever heard about them is that they are strictly intel gathering, that's it. No clandestine ops to far flung dirtholes, picking off 'tangos'.
 
I think it's funny that half of the contributors to this thread are either guests or don't have completed profiles 8), spook contributions per chance??

I agree that CSIS is likely happy with a "we are just federal clock punchers with no capabilities" reputation.  They can fly way under the radar and do whatever they want, with no public interference.  Look at those CIA planes that were compromised not so long ago.  That is an agency with too much of a spot light on it.  If no one is scrutinizing CSIS, then they can go help our allies with their domestic surveillance that is far too un-PC to do for themselves.  Go for it.  Do us all proud in ways we will never be aware of. :salute:
 
Yeah, I have an opinion...CSIS probably does lots of things that are not on the "formal menu." Disinformation, and throwing the public off, is that not part of what spy agencies do? I believe what they say "officially" and do "unofficially" varies greatly. Like JTF2, CSIS has to operate out of the public eye and cannot be public about their operations. It only makes sense that the average citizen doesn't know the details of current operations, because that is the whole point isn't it? If we cannot guess what exactly they do, then they are doing their jobs right.

Gnplummer :cdn:

 
I rest snuggly in my hideaway, assured of my safety and that you four are not working for CSIS.  You have successfully resurrected a five year old Topic, commenting on long ago forgotten points.

The interesting thing about Intelligence Services is when they do their jobs properly, you will never hear about it.  Spies will be caught.  Acts of Terror will be stopped before they can take place.  Criminals will be caught.  Industrial Secrets will be saved.  All these things will be done while you are safely going about your peaceful everyday lives, blissfully unaware of what is going on. 

Public Interests are protected.  On the other hand, Public interest would only put them at a disadvantage.  Police Forces wouldn't be able to surprise criminals to make arrests.  RCMP and Intelligence Agencies wouldn't be able to surprise Spies or Terrorists to make arrests.  Spies would be warned away or around any attempts to steal Industrial Secrets.  That is why there is a "Need to Know" policy.  If you don't need to know, don't push it.  You are being protected and you don't need to know all the details, as then the people that are trying to do you harm would know too.
 
I think the government finally got this right:

Tories drop plan to build foreign spy agency
CSIS to get more power to operate outside Canada Day

Ottawa Citizen, May 16
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=2f125639-65f7-431d-8fc0-ab62fd29b817

The Harper government has backed down from a campaign promise to create a foreign intelligence agency [the promise was so ill thought-out that the Tories at first said they would "expand" a non-existent "Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency" - MC], and now plans instead to give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service more power to spy on foreign countries.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday that instead of launching a new agency, the government will amend legislation to strengthen Canada's existing foreign intelligence capacity.

"After some months of looking at it, this is the direction that we believe is the best way to go," he told the House of Commons public safety committee.

In the 2006 election, the Conservatives promised to create a "Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency to effectively gather intelligence overseas, independently counter threats before they reach Canada, and increase allied intelligence operations."

But the government has since determined that such an agency is not in Canada's "best interests," said Mr. Day.

"The cost of that, of course, would be huge. It would be a number of years in process just to get it set up, and it creates the possibility of yet another silo of information storage."

The minister did not elaborate on the scope of the new powers that CSIS will receive. Nor did he commit to a timeline for the changes. An expansion of the agency's mandate would require amendments to its governing legislation...

More at these guest-posts at Daimnation!:

"Smiley's Canadians?" Not the answer
http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/005697.html

CSIS is the answer
http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/006177.html

Still no need for "Smiley's Canadians"
http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/007990.html

Mark
Ottawa
 
Back
Top