Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, icon; , SCRS) is Canada
's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence
on threats to Canada's national security
, and conducting operations, covert
and overt, within Canada and abroad.
Its headquarters are located at 1941 Ogilvie Road, in Ottawa, Ontario, in a purpose-built facility completed in 1995. CSIS is responsible to Parliament
through the Minister of Public Safety, but is also overseen by the Federal Court
system, the Inspector General
of CSIS, and the Security Intelligence Review Committee
.
passed as a consequence of the McDonald Commission. The main thrust of the McDonald Report was that security intelligence work should be separated from policing, and that the activities of a new agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, should be subject to both judicial approval for warrants, as well as general oversight review by a new body, the Security Intelligence Review Committee
, as well as the office of the Inspector General. Its de facto
existence began on July 16 under the direction of Thomas D'Arcy Finn
. Before this, Canadian intelligence had been under the jurisdiction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service
.
During the Cold War
, the CSIS was tasked with tracking down foreign spies in Canada, relying heavily on the use of "technological gadgets" to uncover espionage activities. More recently, it has engaged in counter-espionage
operations against alleged Chinese
intelligence activities throughout Canada.
matters. It is a federal agency which conducts national security investigations and security intelligence collection at home and abroad. CSIS collects and analyzes intelligence and advises the Government of Canada on issues and activities that may threaten the security of Canada. CSIS also conducts security investigations and assessments for all applicants seeking a security clearance with federal departments and agencies, with the exception of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) who conduct their own security assessments.
There is no restriction in the CSIS Act on where CSIS may collect "security intelligence" or information relating to threats to the security of Canada. The agency may collect information on threats to Canada or Canadians from anywhere in the world. While CSIS is often viewed as a defensive security intelligence agency it is not a domestic agency. CSIS officers work domestically and internationally in their efforts to monitor and counter threats to Canadian security.
There is a distinction between "security intelligence" and "foreign intelligence". Security intelligence pertains to national security threats (e.g., terrorism
, espionage
). Foreign intelligence involves information collection relating to the political or economic activities of foreign states. According to Section 16 of the CSIS Act, the agency collects this type of "foreign intelligence" within Canada.
CSIS is neither a police agency nor is it a part of the military. As an intelligence agency, the primary role of CSIS is not law enforcement. Investigation of criminal activity is left to the RCMP and local (provincial, regional or city) police agencies. CSIS, like counterparts such as the United Kingdom
Security Service (MI5
) and the United States Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), is a civilian agency. CSIS is subject to review by the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) and an Inspector General (IG) as well as other legislative checks and balances. The agency carries out its functions in accordance with the CSIS Act, which governs and defines its powers and activities.
Canadian police, military agencies (see Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch
), and numerous other government departments may maintain their own "intelligence" components (i.e. to analyze criminal intelligence or military strategic intelligence). The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade maintains a Security and Intelligence Bureau to review and analyze overtly acquired information. The bureau plays a coordinating and policy role. While not an intelligence agency, it is responsible for the security of Department of Foreign Affairs personnel around the world. However, these agencies are not to be confused with the more encompassing work of larger more dedicated "intelligence agencies" such as CSIS, MI5, MI6, or the CIA.
The Operational Programs of CSIS include:
CSIS works closely with the intelligence agencies of the United States
, the United Kingdom
, and Australia
. Under the post–World War II Quadpartite Pact all intelligence information is shared between the intelligence agencies of these four countries.
Permission to put a subject under surveillance is granted by the Target Approval and Review Committee
.
Security Liaison Officer
s (SLOs) of CSIS are posted at Canadian embassies and consulates to gather security-related intelligence from other nations. This information may be gathered from other national intelligence agencies, law enforcement services and other sources. SLOs also assess potential immigrants to Canada for security issues.
CSIS has been named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers
" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. for the years of 2009-2011, and was featured in Maclean's
newsmagazine.
(SIRC). It is also under the portfolio of the federal Minister of Public Safety, whose Inspector General compiles an annual classified report on CSIS' operational activities for the Minister. Both SIRC and the CSIS IG have access to all CSIS information, classified and open, with the exception of Cabinet Confidences.
. The Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India
Flight 182, headed by Mr. Justice John Major, is underway. Two Canadian courts have publicly criticized CSIS for destroying wiretap evidence. One court impressed upon the importance of wiretap evidence from CSIS in establishing guilt. The second focused on its exculpatory value.
From 1988 to 1994, CSIS mole Grant Bristow
infiltrated the Canadian white-supremacist movement. When the story became public knowledge, the press aired concerns that he had not only been one of the founders of the Heritage Front
group, but that he had also channelled CSIS funding to the group.
In 1999, classified documents were stolen from the car of a CSIS employee who was attending a Toronto Maple Leafs
hockey
game. The Security Intelligence Review Committee
reportedly investigated this incident.
On September 18, 2006, the Arar Commission absolved CSIS of any involvement in the extraordinary rendition
by the United States of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar
. The Commission found that U.S. authorities sent Arar to Jordan
and then Syria
(his country of birth) based on incorrect information which had been provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) to the U.S. government. Arar was held by the Syrians for one year and was tortured. The sole criticism of CSIS levelled by the Commission was that the agency should do more to critically examine information provided by regimes which practice torture
.
On March 31, 2009, CSIS lawyer and advisor Geoffrey O'Brian told the Committee on Public Safety and National Security that CSIS would use information obtained by torture if it could prevent another attack such as 9/11 or the Air India bombing. Testifying before the same committee two days later, Director of CSIS Jim Judd said that O'Brian "may have been confused" and "venturing into a hypothetical", and would send the committee a clarifying letter. Two weeks later, the CSIS announced that Judd would be retiring in June, five months before the end of his five-year term.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
on threats to Canada's national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, and conducting operations, covert
Covert operation
A covert operation is a military, intelligence or law enforcement operation that is carried clandestinely and, often, outside of official channels. Covert operations aim to fulfill their mission objectives without any parties knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation...
and overt, within Canada and abroad.
Its headquarters are located at 1941 Ogilvie Road, in Ottawa, Ontario, in a purpose-built facility completed in 1995. CSIS is responsible to Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
through the Minister of Public Safety, but is also overseen by the Federal Court
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
system, the Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of CSIS, and the Security Intelligence Review Committee
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee is an independent agency of the government of Canada empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and investigate complaints against CSIS...
.
History
CSIS was created on June 21, 1984 by an Act of ParliamentParliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
passed as a consequence of the McDonald Commission. The main thrust of the McDonald Report was that security intelligence work should be separated from policing, and that the activities of a new agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, should be subject to both judicial approval for warrants, as well as general oversight review by a new body, the Security Intelligence Review Committee
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee is an independent agency of the government of Canada empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and investigate complaints against CSIS...
, as well as the office of the Inspector General. Its de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
existence began on July 16 under the direction of Thomas D'Arcy Finn
Ted Finn
Thomas D'Arcy "Ted" Finn was the first director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service , serving from 1984 until 1987. He "resigned in disgrace" after it was revealed that CSIS had filed an "inaccurate and misleading" affidavit to acquire a warrant for a wiretap.Born in Ottawa, he received...
. Before this, Canadian intelligence had been under the jurisdiction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service
RCMP Security Service
The RCMP Security Service is the former branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which had responsibilities of domestic intelligence and security for Canada...
.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the CSIS was tasked with tracking down foreign spies in Canada, relying heavily on the use of "technological gadgets" to uncover espionage activities. More recently, it has engaged in counter-espionage
Counter-Espionage
-Cast:* Warren William as Michael Lanyard* Eric Blore as Jamison* Hillary Brooke as Pamela Hart* Thurston Hall as Insp. Crane* Fred Kelsey as Detective Wesley Dickens* Forrest Tucker as Anton Schugg* Matthew Boulton as Inspector J...
operations against alleged Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
intelligence activities throughout Canada.
Mission and operations
CSIS is Canada's lead agency for national securityNational security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
matters. It is a federal agency which conducts national security investigations and security intelligence collection at home and abroad. CSIS collects and analyzes intelligence and advises the Government of Canada on issues and activities that may threaten the security of Canada. CSIS also conducts security investigations and assessments for all applicants seeking a security clearance with federal departments and agencies, with the exception of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) who conduct their own security assessments.
There is no restriction in the CSIS Act on where CSIS may collect "security intelligence" or information relating to threats to the security of Canada. The agency may collect information on threats to Canada or Canadians from anywhere in the world. While CSIS is often viewed as a defensive security intelligence agency it is not a domestic agency. CSIS officers work domestically and internationally in their efforts to monitor and counter threats to Canadian security.
There is a distinction between "security intelligence" and "foreign intelligence". Security intelligence pertains to national security threats (e.g., terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
). Foreign intelligence involves information collection relating to the political or economic activities of foreign states. According to Section 16 of the CSIS Act, the agency collects this type of "foreign intelligence" within Canada.
CSIS is neither a police agency nor is it a part of the military. As an intelligence agency, the primary role of CSIS is not law enforcement. Investigation of criminal activity is left to the RCMP and local (provincial, regional or city) police agencies. CSIS, like counterparts such as the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Security Service (MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
) and the United States Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA), is a civilian agency. CSIS is subject to review by the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) and an Inspector General (IG) as well as other legislative checks and balances. The agency carries out its functions in accordance with the CSIS Act, which governs and defines its powers and activities.
Canadian police, military agencies (see Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch
Intelligence Branch (Canadian Forces)
The Intelligence Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces that is concerned with providing relevant and correct information to enable commanders to make decisions.-Information:...
), and numerous other government departments may maintain their own "intelligence" components (i.e. to analyze criminal intelligence or military strategic intelligence). The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade maintains a Security and Intelligence Bureau to review and analyze overtly acquired information. The bureau plays a coordinating and policy role. While not an intelligence agency, it is responsible for the security of Department of Foreign Affairs personnel around the world. However, these agencies are not to be confused with the more encompassing work of larger more dedicated "intelligence agencies" such as CSIS, MI5, MI6, or the CIA.
The Operational Programs of CSIS include:
- Counter-terrorismCounter-terrorismCounter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
- Counter-proliferationCounter-proliferationCounter-proliferation refers to diplomatic, intelligence, and military efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons, including both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction...
- Counter-intelligenceCounter-intelligenceCounterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
- Security screening
- Research, Analysis and Production (creating strategy for the implementation of the Operational Programs)
- Environmental scanningEnvironmental scanningEnvironmental scanning is one component of the global environmental analysis. Environmental monitoring, environmental forecasting and environmental assessment complete the global environmental analysis. Environmental scanning refers to the macro environment.The global environment refers to the...
- Facing Technological Challenges
CSIS works closely with the intelligence agencies of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Under the post–World War II Quadpartite Pact all intelligence information is shared between the intelligence agencies of these four countries.
Permission to put a subject under surveillance is granted by the Target Approval and Review Committee
Target Approval and Review Committee
A branch of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service , the Target Approval and Review Committee grants or denies the ability to put a suspect or group under surveillance and open a clandestine investigation...
.
Security Liaison Officer
Security Liaison Officer
Security Liaison Officers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are posted at Canadian embassies and consulates to gather security-related intelligence from other nations...
s (SLOs) of CSIS are posted at Canadian embassies and consulates to gather security-related intelligence from other nations. This information may be gathered from other national intelligence agencies, law enforcement services and other sources. SLOs also assess potential immigrants to Canada for security issues.
CSIS has been named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers
Canada's Top 100 Employers
Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions and progressive human resources policies. Winners are...
" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. for the years of 2009-2011, and was featured in Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
newsmagazine.
Oversight
The activities of CSIS are regularly reviewed on behalf of Parliament by the Security Intelligence Review CommitteeSecurity Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee is an independent agency of the government of Canada empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and investigate complaints against CSIS...
(SIRC). It is also under the portfolio of the federal Minister of Public Safety, whose Inspector General compiles an annual classified report on CSIS' operational activities for the Minister. Both SIRC and the CSIS IG have access to all CSIS information, classified and open, with the exception of Cabinet Confidences.
Controversies
CSIS has at times come under criticism, such as for its role in the investigation of the 1985 Air India bombingAir India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route a Boeing 747-237B named after Emperor Kanishka was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of , and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace.A...
. The Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India
Flight 182, headed by Mr. Justice John Major, is underway. Two Canadian courts have publicly criticized CSIS for destroying wiretap evidence. One court impressed upon the importance of wiretap evidence from CSIS in establishing guilt. The second focused on its exculpatory value.
From 1988 to 1994, CSIS mole Grant Bristow
Grant Bristow
Grant Bristow was a mole for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service working inside the Heritage Front for six years, who was exposed by Toronto Sun reporter Bill Dunphy in August 1994...
infiltrated the Canadian white-supremacist movement. When the story became public knowledge, the press aired concerns that he had not only been one of the founders of the Heritage Front
Heritage Front
The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005.The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary Schipper...
group, but that he had also channelled CSIS funding to the group.
In 1999, classified documents were stolen from the car of a CSIS employee who was attending a Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
game. The Security Intelligence Review Committee
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee is an independent agency of the government of Canada empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and investigate complaints against CSIS...
reportedly investigated this incident.
On September 18, 2006, the Arar Commission absolved CSIS of any involvement in the extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
by the United States of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...
. The Commission found that U.S. authorities sent Arar to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and then Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
(his country of birth) based on incorrect information which had been provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) to the U.S. government. Arar was held by the Syrians for one year and was tortured. The sole criticism of CSIS levelled by the Commission was that the agency should do more to critically examine information provided by regimes which practice torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
.
On March 31, 2009, CSIS lawyer and advisor Geoffrey O'Brian told the Committee on Public Safety and National Security that CSIS would use information obtained by torture if it could prevent another attack such as 9/11 or the Air India bombing. Testifying before the same committee two days later, Director of CSIS Jim Judd said that O'Brian "may have been confused" and "venturing into a hypothetical", and would send the committee a clarifying letter. Two weeks later, the CSIS announced that Judd would be retiring in June, five months before the end of his five-year term.
See also
- Communications Security Establishment Canada
- Intelligence Branch (Canadian Forces)Intelligence Branch (Canadian Forces)The Intelligence Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces that is concerned with providing relevant and correct information to enable commanders to make decisions.-Information:...
- Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of CanadaFinancial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of CanadaFinancial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada gathers, analyzes, assesses, and discloses financial intelligence. Originally created in July 2000 to counter suspected money laundering, FINTRAC's mandate was expanded in December 2001 to provide the Canadian Security Intelligence...
- Canadian Cyber Incident Response CentreCanadian Cyber Incident Response CentreThe Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre is a Canadian government program that is responsible for monitoring threats and coordinating the national response to any cyber security incident. Its focus is the protection of national critical infrastructure against cyber incidents. It is housed...
- Canadian Air Transport Security AuthorityCanadian Air Transport Security AuthorityThe Canadian Air Transport Security Authority is a Canadian Crown corporation responsible for the security screening at the 89 designated airports in Canada...
External links
- Official website of CSIS
- CSIS news archive at The Canadian Intelligence Resource Centre (CIRC)
- 38th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION contains a review about CSIS's and RCMP's role under the Anti-Terrorism Act