Borealis Threat & Risk ConsultingPhil 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.
Episode 269 – How do we deal with climate change and global warming through a threat lens? When we talk national security the same few challenges come up: terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, sabotage, foreign interference, etc. These are ‘traditional’ in the sense that they are open to investigation, information gathering and, in the worst case […]
Episode 282 – How a cipher clerk opened the door on Soviet spying in the West Ah the Cold War! Those were the good old days when we knew the enemy and he knew us. Few know that the decades-long slowly simmering conflict began in Ottawa when Igor Gouzenko defected from the Soviet Embassy with […]
This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on June 12, 2025. As a nation of immigrants, Canada has served as a refuge for all kinds of people who came here for all kinds of reasons. Some simply wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Some were fleeing war or conflict zones. […]
Episode 281 – The Horn of Africa is beset by a new, albeit odd, alliance To say that the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia) is unstable is an understatement. Whether we are talking about war, famine or terrorism, the region has had its challenges for decades. Now a working relationship between Al Qaeda-affiliated Al […]
Episode 268 – How serious is the RW threat to Canada? If you listen to many ‘experts’ the biggest threat to world safety emanates from the far right (what normal people call right-wing terrorism (RW) but the Canadian government calls IMVE – ideologically-motivated violent extremism). Recent RCMP arrests in Quebec hit the news yesterday and […]
That Canada is, and proudly so, a multicultural nation has been part of our identity for decades (since 1971 officially). Nevertheless, Canadian belief that this policy is good for us has been falling of late (decreasing from 74% to 65% between June 2023 and July 2024 according to a Research Co. poll). Still, two-thirds of […]
Episode 267 – A look back at the 7/7 London (UK) bombings twenty years later. When it comes to major terrorist attacks that grab the world’s attention a few rise to the top. 9/11 (of course!), the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, the Bataclan/Stade de France massacre and the Madrid metro attack in 2004 […]
Episode 280 – A deep look at how drug gangs are abusing the homeless in Canada When we talk about national security and public safety most people would likely go immediately to issues such as terrorism and espionage. And yet, there are many other things that pose a more immediate threat in most societies. Drug […]
Season 2 Episode 39 What do you get when you let three former spies loose on questions from their ‘fans’? The regular ‘ask us’ episode! We bet you have never had to think about the importance of a Farsi (Persian)-speaking parrot. Only here… Substack link Spotify link Spies Like Us With a combined 90+ years […]
Episode 279 – What, another ISIS affiliate in Africa? Mozambique achieved independence in 1974 after a long civil war with its former Portuguese colonial power. Like most African nations, however, peace and stability are not that common in the post European power era. The southeastern country has been facing down a jihadi movement affiliated with […]