Procedure and House Affairs committee  First, it's an important point that you're making. It's important to note that the physical security of any of these MPs has not been in question, and there is no physical threat. I understand completely that the information that has been leaked to the media, or now briefed to members of Parliament, is shocking and disturbing to hear.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think what is important to note is that we should not be relying on any single individual to read intelligence and decide it's going to move up, and that if it's not read by that individual, it falls by the side of the table. If I miss my reading package for one day because I'm travelling, that should not mean that information is not shared with the Clerk of the Privy Council, ministers or the Prime Minister.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I think that's a very good summary of how the system works. What we have now done, based on the Prime Minister's direction, is ensure that anything that mentions foreign interference and an MP gets briefed up, regardless of its credibility or how confident we are in the reporting.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Prime Minister, I think, was quite unequivocal. He directed the intelligence agencies to ensure that MPs are briefed and that he is to be briefed on any information and intelligence that is received about foreign interference that targets a member of Parliament. Minister Mendicino then further put that into a formal document that is called a ministerial directive.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, absolutely. That is going to happen from now on. It wasn't the case previously, because there is a range of information that comes in. Some of it isn't credible. It is concerning. It would worry the MP, if they were told. I think the lesson learned out of this is that early reporting is better, even if the piece of intelligence that has arrived is not a credible piece or cannot be verified.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  CSIS will speak to you about their holdings when they're here.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As I've said, I cannot account for and I will not speculate about what went on in 2021. I know you are seeing my predecessors and I know you're speaking to CSIS. I think there was a breakdown in process—not only a breakdown in process, but I think insufficient process—and so we have rectified those problems.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it's very clear from the direction given by the Prime Minister, and the ministerial directive from Minister Mendicino to CSIS and to the other intelligence agencies in his portfolio, that the expectation is, yes, MPs will be briefed on the totality of the holdings against them, regardless of the depth, the severity and the reliability of those holdings.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Our security agencies collect somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 pieces of intelligence, sovereign intelligence, a month. That's then compounded and multiplied by the intelligence we receive from Five Eyes. I have a reading file in which I follow very specific issues. Obviously, I follow what is going on in Ukraine.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are people who are certainly far more capable of explaining the system to you, because they work in the system. Essentially, it is put into a system called Slingshot, or it is sent through a TS or secret method to certain addressees. In my case, it is printed for me. I can access it myself, but generally it's printed for me.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It was through a briefing from CSIS.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As I said to Mr. Chong at the time of the CSIS briefing to him, I learned about it in The Globe and Mail. I had not previously seen the report, nor had the Prime Minister.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Prime Minister was not made aware of the targeting against Mr. Chong or Ms. Kwan before recent events and reporting. That has been done by CSIS. CSIS has brought this forward to him in the last two to three weeks.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Or Mr. O'Toole.... That is my understanding.