| I thought it
would be interesting to do a number of
brief reports on CSIS (Canadian Security
Intelligence Service), and the Canadian
intelligence community in general, since
there have been a number of occasions
that the organisation has acted in a
manner that is extremely intrusiveness
and questionable in light of the fact
that we live in a society that prides
itself on freedom and democracy.
Please note that I am not in expert
in this area, and that most of my
information has come public articles,
books, CSIS reports from their web-site,
and that (so-called objective, but we
know it was a cover-up) SIRC report on
the "Heritage Front Affair"
supplied via the Freedomsite.
I think the best way we can guard our
privacy, and secure our rights and
freedoms as guaranteed by the Charter,
is to educate ourselves on issues
related to police activity intelligence
activity.
Here goes…
CSIS is not the only organization in
Canada charged with the responsibility
of the collection and analysis of
information related to national security
in Canada. For instance, there are a
number of secondary groups (and by
secondary I mean groups that do not
receive public attention or have the
public profile of CSIS) including Bureau
of Economic Intelligence in External
Affairs, Communications Security
Establishment (CSE) which is run under
the hospices of the Department of
National Defence (DND) and focuses of
high tech information couriers, Police
and Security branch of the Solicitor
General and RCMP (which mostly does
enforcement), Special Investigations
Unit of the DND, Security and
Communication Support Office of the
Department of Communications, Security
Branch of the Department of Supply and
Services, the Enforcement Branch of
Immigration Canada, and the Privy
Council which reports security issues
directly to the PM and other Cabinet
Ministers. There are others as well.
As for CSIS, they came into being in
May 1983, after the Liberal government
introduced Bill C-157 authorising the
establishment of a non-enforcement
oriented domestic intelligence service.
This bill was developed for a number of
reasons, most notably due to the
conflict of interest between enforcement
and intelligence duties of the RCMP and
the desire to develop a civilian
intelligence service.
Amendments were made to the act and
it was renamed BILL C-9. It became law
in June, 1984. CSIS, unlike its RCMP
predecessor, does not have law
enforcement powers. Matters of arrest
and seizure fall onto other forces in
which CSIS must co-operate with. |
In theory,
CSIS is to operate entirely on issues
related to national security on a
domestic level. In other words, CSIS is
not supposed to 'go abroad' and engage
in surveillance or counter-espionage,
but it to work within the boundaries of
Canada. If intelligence gathering is to
be done overseas, it is supposed to be
performed through the co-operation with
other services with regards to a country
of interest (i.e. CSIS is to work in
co-operation with MI5 if there is a
concern of terrorism coming from the
UK).
However, there are cases in which
CSIS has functioned outside of their
domain. For example, CSIS
representatives travelled to Switzerland
and New York City to recruit a
middle-level Soviet Trade Representative
named Anatoly Maximov. Of course, the
official line is that CSIS will not
engage in covert operations abroad that
seek to influence or alter the politics
of another nation. Sounds like
espionage/counter-espionage to me!
Within Canada, CSIS often conducts
espionage (i.e. pro-active intelligence
gathering) in order to obtain economic
of national security intelligence
through measures such as wire-tapes,
electronic surveillance, and other
intrusive measures such as opening mail.
Targets often include foreign diplomats,
trade officials, foreign businessmen,
and even tourists and visitors. Remember
when Haider came to visit Canada, CSIS
new exactly when and where he was going.
Other CSIS responsibilities include
counter-subversion (i.e.
counter-terrorism) and
counter-intelligence. Obviously,
so-called far-right political and lobby
groups are considered to be a subversive
threat, so we (most likely) would be
identified under this group.
Counter-intelligence is concerned with
limiting the release of sensitive
information regarding economic, social,
and intelligence matters - so, here, I
would be considered a threat.
A wide-range of individuals and
groups in Canada have been targeted by
CSIS and subject to a varying degree to
surveillance, including: the National
Farmers' Union, National Democratic
Party, Canadian Association of
University Teachers, University Clubs
and Associations, the Parti Quebecois,
various Native Canadian associations,
and other political parties such as the
Reform Party.
There are a number of methods to
collect information on people and groups
such as open sources (newsletters,
brochures, and newspaper articles),
informants (i.e. Grant Bristow),
personal surveillance (including
photographing of individuals at public
meetings), copying of vehicle license
plate numbers, and opening of mail.
Both the RCMP and CSIS have a history
of engaging in intrusive measures
against non-violent political groups in
order to collect information. Quite
often, CSIS attempts to identify certain
trends in a group in order to justify
surveillance on a target.
I discuss CSIS, their methods, and
effective counter measures in the near
future. |
