Phil Gurski from Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting on how CSIS gathers information for national security or public safety purposes.
Author: Phil Gurski
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. Phil is a 32-year veteran of CSE and CSIS and the author of six books on terrorism.
If I were to ask you what you really worry about – what you REALLY worry about not, for instance, when will a Canada-based hockey team finally win the Stanley Cup again – what would you respond with? What do you see as threats or situations that pose such a degree of danger to us […]
When I left the Canadian civil service – more accurately the security intelligence world – in May 2015 I had some of the restrictions on what I can say and do lifted. Up to a point. I still cannot talk in detail about operations I was part of or intelligence I was privy to and […]
Would you shill for Usama bin Laden?
Canadian lobby firm should not be doing business with Sudan military.
It is hard to admit when you have made a mistake. After all, we want to be right every time and when it becomes obvious that we are not it takes a special effort to pronounce a mea culpa. Me, I have tried to be gracious when obvious errors are pointed out to me: perhaps […]
CVE in Canada needs better scrutiny
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 8, 2019 If there is one buzzword that has gained a lot of ground in Canada and elsewhere in the post 9/11 period it is CVE (which stands for Countering Violent Extremism; sometimes it is also called PCVE – Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism). This field […]
Terrorism: plus ca change (part 2)
If you are a faithful reader of my blogs or have had the opportunity to listen to my podcasts you will know that I have been going on lately about Buddhist terrorism. Yes, I am referring to that oddly-phrased form of violent extremism which I imagine strikes most as oxymoronic (can peaceful Buddhists REALLY engage […]
Terrorism: plus ca change (part 1)
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) For many in the post 9/11 world it may seem as if terrorism is something new – and terrible. We are constantly inundated with news about attacks here and attacks there, sometimes […]
Remember Al Qaeda? It’s baaaacckkk!
When you have been at war with something for almost two decades it is important to declare ‘victory’ at some point. Those whose support you – i.e. the public/taxpayer – need and want to see some results for the actions they are backstopping. Fighting for years with no sense that you are winning is a […]
In our continuing series on religious terrorism, it is time to look at Jewish extremist violence.