Thank you, and thank you for coming today.
There has been talk about Afghanistan and the CSIS role there. I'd like to first read into the record part of your presentation that didn't make it because you didn't have enough time. It's in the latter part of your presentation, and I read:
...CSIS plays a critical role in supporting ail three pillars of Canada's efforts in Afghanistan—defence, diplomacy, and development.
As my Assistant Director Foreign Collection stated last week, information collected by CSIS has saved lives. Our work has led to the disruption and dismantling of insurgent networks planning imminent IED and car bomb attacks against military and civilian targets.
We are very proud of our role in force protection, and our employees are willing to share the risks faced by CF personnel while in Afghanistan....
CSIS intelligence contributes to the success of Canada's overall mission in Afghanistan.
Now, Director Fadden, in the context that has been described by some here today, you would think that some of your work is simply to be harsh on people in an undue way. We've lost 143 Canadian lives, men and women, in Afghanistan. You're there protecting Canadian lives, as far as I can tell. Tell me about some of the people you interview.
And from another part of your earlier comments, I'll quote again from your presentation: “CSIS is investigating over 200 individuals in this country”—meaning Canada—“whose activities meet the definition of terrorism as set out in section 2(c) of the CSIS Act”.
Let's talk about what's really important in terms of public safety and saving Canadian lives and what you're doing in Afghanistan. When you are getting intelligence, are you not talking to people who are even terrorists themselves, criminals, murderers, to gather information? Are these the types of things you're doing to protect our people in Afghanistan?