Ottawa to release unprecedented report into foreign espionage in Canada

By Alex BoutilierOttawa Bureau

Tues., March 10, 2020

OTTAWA—The federal government is set to table an unprecedented report into efforts to combat foreign states’ espionage operations in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received a classified review of the government’s response to foreign interference in Canada last September. The deadline for releasing an unclassified version of the report to the public is Thursday.

The review was conducted by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), a new, multi-partisan committee given unprecedented access to Canada’s intelligence community.

The details of the report remain a tightly kept secret until its unclassified public release. But it marks the first time parliamentarians have been able to study highly-sensitive material related to intelligence agencies’ efforts to combat foreign espionage in Canada.

Canadian intelligence agencies have been more open in recent years about hostile state actors operating in Canada. In 2018, CSIS Director David Vigneault highlighted the threat in a speech to Toronto’s business community.

“Traditional interference by foreign spies remains the greatest danger, but interference using cyber means is a growing concern,” Vigneault said.

“The scales, speed, range and impact of foreign interference has grown as a result of the internet, social media platforms, and the availability of cheaper and more accessible cyber tools.”

In addition to foreign interference, NSICOP’s report will cover diversity and inclusion in Canada’s intelligence community, as well as the national security and intelligence operations of the Canada Border Services Agency.

The committee has also submitted a special report to Trudeau on the Department of National Defence’s “collection, use, retention and dissemination” of information on Canadian citizens by military intelligence officers.