Procedure and House Affairs committee  No. It's why we're changing process.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I've said I'm not going to speculate, and you have the opportunity to ask the incumbent of the job that question when they are here. I ensure, as the national security and intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister, that he receives the information he requires, particularly on foreign interference but also on a range of other subjects.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You're drawing fallacious conclusions. The Prime Minister cannot make determinations about information he was not given, and he was not given the information, period.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't have a crystal ball. I would hope that members of Parliament and Canadians—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. I don't have a crystal ball. I would hope that I can reassure you that over the next months you will see more communication from the national security community; that you'll see more dialogue with Canadians, with diaspora communities; that we will talk about foreign interference in a more open and transparent manner; that it can be done without revealing national security classified information; and that the briefings we give to members of Parliament will be more specific and in plainer language and give you examples of what to look for and what the concerns are.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. That's a complex set of questions you've asked. I think that NSICOP could be used more effectively with its cleared members to understand the intelligence being collected and how it's being actioned within the national security community. I think that it's a very critical committee.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think you make a very important point or series of points. The director of CSIS has been before this committee and other committees, and certainly in the public, talking about the need to talk about foreign interference and the national security of Canada. It's not a conversation that we generally have.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If the intelligence collected had indicated that there was going to be imminent action, Mr. Chong would have been briefed under the CSIS Act threat reduction measures. Should he have been briefed on the information that was available at the time? I think the conclusion now is yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Absolutely. That is why the direction from Minister Mendicino is quite clear that MPs are to be briefed.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think you will be hearing from my predecessors. You need to ask them what their logic was in the moment and at the time that these reports came forward. I think it is critical—before we leap to conclusions that there was negligence—that you hear from them on why they made the decisions they did in that moment.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My understanding, as of today, is that the ones that had been operating in Toronto and Vancouver are no longer operating.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I do not have any further information about police stations. New information could come to light as soon as I leave this room, but as of today I do not know of any others. There are, yes, proxies of diplomats who are working contrary to the interests of the diaspora community. That is a significant element of—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I could not give a number.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Do I know a precise number? No. Proxies work in a range of ways, so I can't give you a number.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, intelligence collection, dissemination and analysis in Canada, and with all of our Five Eyes allies, is a team sport. Various agencies collect, analyze and make determinations about that intelligence. In my team, we have directed what information needs to come to deputy ministers for discussion and advice, so that it is not, as I said, a single point of failure when something isn't briefed, and that it is not only one person's view of what we should do with that intelligence.