We all know that ‘experts’ are a dime a dozen. It seems that you cannot read an article or watch an interview without someone introduced as an ‘expert’ on this topic or that topic. And in truth it is good to have real experts available to help us understand complicated topics as none of us […]
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As some of you may know, I am a grandfather (yes, I am THAT old!). I have an almost 2-year old grandson and, duh!, he is the most perfect grandchild. Ever. In the history of the planet. Of that there is no doubt and I should know since I am his grandfather. What is that […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on August 12, 2019. I never worked in foreign affairs or for Foreign Affairs (or Global Affairs Canada as it is now known, having once been designated External Affairs and many other names) but I know a little about about the subject. After all, you cannot work in […]
My wife and I are quite taken by British programming. We have watched Midsomer Murders – all 19 seasons we have access to – at least twice and other similar series on Netflix and Acorn TV. We are currently making our way through George Gently, starring Martin Shaw (and Lee Ingleby, who also played Stan […]
This post appeared in The Hill Times on August 5, 2019. When you agree to work for an organisation that deals with classified information you are required to sign off on documents that say you will never disclose certain data to those who do not have the requisite security clearance and a ‘need to know’. […]
What is the duty of a citizen? How far should a taxpayer go in the interests of public safety? Are we obliged to cooperate with security intelligence and law enforcement agencies when we come across information that may relate to threats or crimes? Or is it ok to ignore what we see or hear, preferring […]
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Sins of the father – redux
It has been a while since I have had legitimate occasion to quote the great New York Yankee catcher and inveterate mangler of the English language, Yogi Berra, but today is one of those days where I really need to lead off (get the baseball analogy??) with him. Of all the phrases he uttered over […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 29, 2019. July 22 marks a somber anniversary in Canada. A year ago a large crowd was enjoying a summer’s evening on Toronto’s Danforth Ave., sitting in cafes, having dinner, spending time with friends and family. Around 10 PM a lone gunman was seen walking down […]
Most Canadians could be forgiven for not having a deep sense of what the Canadian intelligence community is or what it does. We seldom talk about intelligence matters and most references to these issues come out in the wake of mistakes, perceived or real. Think Air India or Maher Arar and you get an idea […]
When I worked at CSIS on counter terrorism investigations one phenomenon we would encounter on a regular basis was the role played by an individual we called the ‘radicaliser’. This person, or persons, could reside in the real world or online. S/he (to be honest it was usually a he) would generally have a charismatic […]