Ever since Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star broke the news of a $35 million lawsuit by 5 CSIS employees I have agonised over what to write and even whether to write about this issue. I turned down several requests for interviews from major Canadian TV networks and a few radio stations since I did […]
Search: “CSIS”
We found 1,133 results for your search.
Categories
CSIS and the courts at loggerheads?
These past couple of months have not been good for Canada’s spy service. First, the Federal Court ruled that CSIS has been negligent in informing it of a programme whereby it ‘illegally kept’ data (which it had collected legally under warrant) on Canadians. Then there is the criticism that the Service shared questions with the […]
I know for sure that this blog is going to raise some hackles, especially among my US friends and colleagues. Why? Because I am going to argue that the current US counter terrorism architecture is inadequate to deal with the threat and needs a serious overhaul. The solution I am proposing, however, will go against […]
Categories
CSIS and disruption
CSIS Director Michel Coulombe appeared before the Senate National Security and Defence Committee today and stated that his organisation has used its new disruption powers over twenty times since 2015. This measure was controversial when introduced by the former Conservative government and is still seen by some as too strong for a service that […]
Episode 351 – An old nemesis of the Taliban comes back to life! Remember the Northern Alliance? Founded in 1996, this group, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, fought the Taliban jihadis until 2001 but seemed to disappear after Massoud was killed, two days before 9/11. Well, the group is back, sorta, and is led now […]
Episode 350 – Why mainstream media is an important window on national security National security is one of those sectors that is normally shrouded in secrecy and that is frustrating to many. Spy agencies do their jobs in the shadows and don’t disclose much but there is a need to know. Some of the gaps […]
This piece first appeared in The Bureau on August 28, 2026. Of all the terms in the English language that have led to arguments over what exactly they mean, terrorism has to be at or near the top. Phrases such as “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” the tendency of dictators to call […]
Episode 349 – The UK has led the world in CVE: what can we learn from its efforts? One of the most popular buzzwords in the post 9/11 period is ‘radicalisation’. Though it has been around a long time, it has come to refer to the ‘process’ whereby individuals and/or groups adopt extreme ideas upon […]
Episode 348 – Twenty years in Afghanistan and the Taliban are back in power I am not a military specialist but I am aware of the great Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz. Among his many famous statements were this gem: “War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is […]
Episode 347 – Alberta’s separation referendum is being targeted by both Russia and the US Just when you think you have heard enough about foreign interference in Canada something else pops up. This time, it is not about diaspora harassment or “police stations”, but whether Alberta will vote in a referendum to leave Canada. As […]