First off, I think it is important to note that CSE would not receive any new authorities under the act. It would leverage our existing mandate under the Communications Security Establishment Act. Section 16 of the act is for cybersecurity and information assurance to provide technical advice, guidance and services, both to designated operators and to Government of Canada partners.
Information collected by CSE pursuant to one aspect of its mandate can be used by CSE under another aspect of the mandate as long as it meets specific conditions set out in the CSE Act. Information related to security programs will enable CSE and its cyber centre to gain a better understanding of the supply chain risk of designated operators as well as the intentions of a foreign entity via its penetration into respective sectors.
Without being able to leverage CSE's mandate as a whole, CSE's understanding of foreign actors' intentions against our critical infrastructure and the proper strategic mitigations would be greatly diminished. Any limitation would also reduce CSE's collaboration with our Five Eyes partners.
I would therefore suggest that this amendment may not be necessary.