OK, OK, I am a little sensitive when it comes to articles on CSIS. I did work there for 15 years after all and was (and still am) very proud of what I and my colleagues did to help keep Canadians safe. No, we were not perfect but I think we did our best. So […]
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.
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on September 2, 2019. It should come as a surprise to no one that people in many parts of the world lack confidence in important public institutions. Whether we are talking about governments in general or more specifically agencies such as law enforcement and security intelligence, there is […]
I don’t know how closely you follow terrorism-related stories in the news ( I know I spend FAR too much time doing so!) and thus I don’t know if you are aware of the ‘peace talks’ that have been developing for some time between the US and the Taliban in Afghanistan. These negotiations are linked […]
This is an extract from Episode 17 – Should we make any effort to repatriate foreign fighters?.
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On existential threats
It is rare for the head of an intelligence agency to give a public talk. Spy services, as we all know, work in the shadows and do things that are sometimes not generally nice (like assassinating terrorists). We’ve all seen the Jason Bourne films, right? So when the leader of one of these organisations does […]
There is a constant battle between what are commonly called good and evil. Good in this case consists of the men and women who toil on our behalf to keep us safe: in Canada that would be the security service (CSIS), law enforcement agencies (RCMP as well as provincial and municipal police services) and others. […]
Ya gotta feel for Maxime Bernier. The leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) is pretty pissed I imagine. He cannot get a seat at the upcoming debate that will feature the leaders of the other parties (even Green Party chief Elizabeth May – and she only has two seats in Parliament! – will […]
Canada has been abuzz on what to do with ‘Jihadi Jack’. What should we do with him and other ‘foreign fighters’? Listen latest episode!
The George Gently series is not for the faint of heart. This British detective series is set in northeastern England in the mid to late 1960s and deals with weighty topics like rape, child abuse, wife beating and others. What is interesting is to see what I assume is an accurate portrayal of society’s attitudes […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on August 26, 2019. These days when we read or think about terrorism we tend to go in two directions. Either we think about terrorist groups: Al Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, etc. Or we talk about ‘lone wolves’ even if that term is […]