MPs, senators on intelligence committee review Canada’s foreign spying capabilities

MPs, senators on intelligence committee review Canada’s foreign spying capabilities JIM BRONSKILL OTTAWA THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 5 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: The West Block of Parliament Hill is pictured behind the Centennial Flame. A CSIS memo prepared last year said that in an uncertain geopolitical environment, Canada’s demand for such foreign intelligence might grow. SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Parliamentarians are taking a hard look at Canada’s overseas intelligence gathering capabilities as debate simmers over the need for a new foreign spy agency. The MPs and senators who make up the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians are examining the effectiveness of Canada’s foreign intelligence collection. The secretariat of the highly secretive committee would not elaborate on the scope, timeframe or potential findings of the review, which was announced in a brief June statement. It also declined to make chair Darren Fisher, a Liberal MP, available for an interview. A recent academic paper on the decades-long discussion about whether Canada should launch a foreign spy agency was to be included in the material presented to committee members as background for their investigation. Records recently disclosed by Public Safety Canada under the Access to Information Act indicate cabinet ministers have been briefed on the idea of expanding Canada’s capacity to gather and act on foreign intelligence. The Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s cyberspy agency, collects foreign intelligence through electronic means. Global Affairs Canada contributes diplomatic reporting, while the military gathers defence-specific intelligence. CSIS is permitted to gather intelligence in Canada and abroad about security threats such as terrorism and espionage. It is allowed to gather foreign intelligence — information about the activities, capabilities and intentions of foreign people, organizations and states — only within Canada, not overseas. A CSIS memo prepared last year said that in an uncertain geopolitical environment, Canada’s demand for such foreign intelligence might grow. “Canada can only learn and act so much through its current collection and authorities, and has historically relied on allied partnerships for certain foreign intelligence reporting,” the memo said. Various proposals for a Canadian foreign intelligence service have been debated since the end of the…