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Perspectives

CSIS is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t

CSIS is criticized when it refuses to divulge anything at all. It is criticized when it at least makes an effort to let out some information. Why should the intelligence agency even try then?

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Perspectives

What role, if any, will security issues play in the 2019 election campaign?

I constantly hear the accusation that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ‘soft on terrorism’. Where are people getting this idea? How many examples do you want?

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Perspectives

The spy next door

The arrest of a senior Canadian intelligence official on allegations of stealing classified materials has shaken the international intelligence community.

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Perspectives

Maxime Bernier’s PPC: Haters gotta hate, hate, hate

Pity poor Maxime Bernier. The leader of the People’s Party of Canada, who came within a hair’s breadth of becoming head honcho of the Conservative Party, cannot catch a break.

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The Mounties get their man – and he is one of their own

We must remind ourselves that all of this is alleged and not proven. Cameron Ortis is, of course, innocent until any of this is demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. It does not look good, but we must wait and see. Even if the details are salacious.

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Perspectives

Something’s not right about the Joshua Boyle saga

There are unanswered questions about Joshua Boyle and why the horrific ordeal he put his wife and kids through began in the first place.

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Perspectives

A small victory in the war against violent hate or a slippery slope to censorship?

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on September 9, 2019. We all believe that hate is on the rise. Whether it is statements made (and later denied) by presidents who shall remain nameless or an apparent increase in marches and public displays of anger by groups of (largely) white men who seem to be […]

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Perspectives

A lack of trust in security agencies makes us less safe

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 […]

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Perspectives

State terrorism is making a comeback – of sorts

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 […]

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Perspectives

Making CSIS ‘smarter’ at counter-terrorism, easier said than done!

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the very good when it comes to Canadian counter terrorism.