Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to be here in support of this important study.
Since its creation 40 years ago, CSIS has had to adapt to major changes in the threat landscape to protect Canada and Canadians. From our inception at the height of the Cold War to today's era of global cyber-enabled threats, CSIS has had to continuously evolve its operations.
Although foreign interference is not new, the complexity of the modern threat, fuelled by technology, highlights the need for appropriate tools and authorities.
Gaps in the authorities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, which have become more acute with rapid technological change, limit CSIS’s ability to detect, investigate, and respond to, foreign interference in a timely way to protect Canada’s interests.
Bill C-70 proposes a set of focused amendments that will improve CSIS’s operational response to foreign interference with three objectives.
First, the targets of foreign interference extend well beyond the federal government. They include Canada's diverse communities; democratic processes at all levels of government; Canada's rich research system; our private sector, which drives the innovation economy; and the critical infrastructure upon which we rely. Amendments would authorize CSIS to equip national security partners outside the federal government.
We have learned from Canadians—especially other levels of government, businesses, diaspora and minority communities—that they would like more information about the threats they face so they can build resilience against them.
Second, amendments seek to ensure that CSIS can operate successfully in a digital world. CSIS has adapted to and embraced technology through its history, but the pace of technological development today is creating blind spots and vulnerabilities that foreign state adversaries and violent extremists are exploiting every single day.
Finally, amendments would enable CSIS to keep pace with emerging and rapidly evolving threats.
The proposed amendments address five areas of the CSIS Act.
Amendments to current disclosure authorities would authorize information sharing outside the federal government to build resiliency to national security threats.
New judicial authorizations are proposed that are tailored to the requirements of modern digital investigations.
To better leverage data in investigations, amendments are proposed to CSIS's existing data authorities.
A tactical amendment to CSIS's foreign intelligence collection mandate to account for the borderless nature of data would better equip CSIS to collect on the intentions and capabilities of foreign states.
Finally, a review of the CSIS Act by Parliament every five years would ensure that CSIS can continue to adapt to emerging threats and changing technology.
All of the proposed amendments were designed with strong safeguards in mind. We heard the importance of this from Canadians during our consultations.
As well, CSIS remains accountable to the Minister of Public Safety, who can issue specific direction on any aspect of CSIS’s activities.
Certain CSIS activities will also continue to be reviewed and approved by the intelligence commissioner.
All CSIS activities can also be subject to review by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency or the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
By maintaining strong review and oversight, including the vital role of the Federal Court, the legislation would ensure that all CSIS activities to protect Canada and Canadians comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
With that, I welcome the opportunity to discuss any aspect of the proposed amendments to the CSIS Act.
Thank you.