Director’s Letter

Minister of Public Safety
269 Laurier Avenue West, 19th Floor
Ottawa ON  K1A 0P8

Dear Minister:

    Please accept my congratulations on your recent appointment. The people of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) welcome you to your new role and look forward to showcasing their efforts towards protecting Canada’s national security. I will be working with your team over the coming days to organize a series of in-depth discussions on several topics.  I would like to briefly outline the most important things you need to know as you assume your duties, and how the Service will support you in addressing them.

    CSIS is Canada’s human intelligence service. The CSIS Act, our enabling legislation, establishes CSIS’ duties and functions. In accordance with the Act we collect information on activities that we have reasonable grounds to suspect are threats to the security of Canada, and advise the Government on such threats. Threats we investigate include espionage and sabotage, foreign interference, violent extremism, and subversion. While investigating threats to the security of Canada is our primary mission, the Act also outlines CSIS’ other responsibilities such as conducting security screening, collecting foreign intelligence within Canada and taking action to mitigate threats.

    As Minister of Public Safety, you provide direction to the Service and have specific responsibilities for authorizations as outlined in the CSIS Act, including approval of warrant applications to the Federal Court, and arrangements with domestic and foreign partners, among others.

    Canadians rely on CSIS to work hard to keep them safe and secure. Achieving this mission in the 21^st century means that intelligence must support a range of Government decision-making, from commitments for international engagements, to research and economic innovation, and to social cohesion in the face of growing intolerance at a time where Canada seeks increasingly to welcome newcomers to our shores. Though the types of threats we investigate have remained the same over the 39-year history of our organization, the threat actors and their methods have changed dramatically. Like many of our allies, we have been forced to adapt our ways of working to this new landscape. This has resulted in organizational pressures that now pose critical challenges, and which I would like to highlight to you as the most important priorities as you transition into your new role.

Why CSIS’ Role is Critical

    CSIS is at the forefront of the most critical national security challenges facing Canadians. These include the strategic global environment Canada is confronting, and highly local efforts to keep Canadians safe from threats. No other organization in the Government of Canada occupies this space; if CSIS does not achieve something, it does not get done.

    CSIS has contributed to several RCMP counter-terrorism investigations that have led to arrests or peace bonds since June of this year. These have included individuals linked to either religiously or ideologically motivated violent extremism. As my RCMP colleagues may also have already briefed you on, recent foreign interference charges against a former RCMP member are the result of a lengthy and cooperative investigation between our two organizations. These are merely a subset of our investigative efforts that illustrate why our people and capabilities are essential in today’s threat environment.

     CSIS is able to leverage unique sources and accesses to generate timely intelligence, allowing partners to advance their own investigations with greater precision than otherwise possible. As partners will tell you, these CSIS contributions are essential to many investigations, and must be comprehensively resourced and properly equipped in pursuit of the best security outcomes for Canadians.

Threat Environment

    Today’s threat environment is complex, diverse and global. Threats against Canada’s security are driven by the malicious use of new technologies and data, geopolitical events, and the means and motivations of threat actors. The constant evolution in the threat environment requires CSIS to adapt its operational posture and realign scarce financial and personnel resources to address shifting priorities. As mentioned, this will continue to result in operational impacts and residual risks to Canada and Canadians.

    Much attention has been paid in recent months to the challenges of foreign interference. Foreign interference threatens not only our democratic institutions and the safety of Canadians, but also the fabric of Canada’s multicultural society. Foreign interference is not a new phenomenon, nor are our investigations into it. However, like all operations, our investigations into this threat have evolved. In addition to raising awareness of foreign interference threats, through appearances before Parliament and extensive outreach with stakeholders and clients, the actions we take in response to foreign interference targeting Parliamentarians in particular have become more forward leaning. I look forward to briefing you on these efforts in the near future.

    Foreign interference is only one element of the mosaic of threats CSIS must confront. Today, threat actors engage in espionage activities not only to acquire government secrets, but also valuable intellectual property, cutting-edge proprietary technologies and innovative research for their own economic benefit and advancement. Cyber threats are increasing in sophistication and impact; they continue to pose a significant risk to our critical infrastructure, the private information of Canadians, businesses, and our core institutions. Violent extremism remains a top threat to Canada’s public safety. Over the last five years, a rise in ideologically motivated violent extremism means that half of our counter-terrorism resources are now devoted to those investigations. Religiously motivated violent extremism also remains a concern, especially with the return of extremist travellers. Online radicalization and lone actors remain of significant concern domestically. For example, [REDACTED].

    To respond to this complex threat landscape, CSIS conducts national security investigations in Canada and abroad. At home, CSIS relies on its regional offices across the country to collect intelligence, undertake threat reduction measures, conduct outreach, and cooperate with domestic partners like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency. CSIS also maintains a strategic presence abroad to liaise and cooperate with foreign partners and to investigate global threats.

    Canada is privileged to be a valued and trusted member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Maintaining credibility in this partnership requires ongoing contribution of capabilities and effort. Prioritizing investment in data capabilities, for example and as mentioned above, will enable CSIS to sustain these contributions and allow the Government of Canada to continue to derive strategic benefit from this partnership. In today’s fluid and globalized threat environment, which knows no borders, the ability to conduct investigations internationally, as well as partner with foreign allies, is critical to ensuring that CSIS can provide the Government of Canada with timely and relevant intelligence. [REDACTED].

    CSIS’ counter terrorism collection also contributes to the efforts of the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC), which is housed within the CSIS national headquarters in Ottawa. As a community-wide resource, staffed by representatives from many federal organizations, the primary objective of ITAC is to produce accurate, relevant and timely threat assessments on terrorism. It is also charged with developing the National Terrorism Threat Level that I approve as Director and which is currently at medium.

Equipping CSIS with the Right Authorities

    As Canada is increasingly grappling with changes to the threat environment, hastened by technology, innovation and an increasingly digital world, and exploited by highly capable state actors, CSIS’ authorities are struggling to keep pace. Reflecting on the rapid evolution of threats to the security of Canada and Canadians, CSIS is engaged with partners at the Department of Justice, Privy Council and Public Safety Canada on potential amendments to the CSIS Act that would enable CSIS to better protect Canadians and inform the Government of Canada. Such amendments have been widely recognized as needed by the former Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference, the Federal Court, former national security officials, and independent experts.

    This work builds on the proposals advanced as part of [REDACTED] way for Canadians to participate in a full and informed discussion about the authorities of its security intelligence service. [REDACTED] greater information sharing to partners outside the Government of Canada, such as provinces and territories, provide flexibility and appropriate proportionality for judicial authorizations, [REDACTED]. CSIS looks forward to supporting you as you engage with Canadians on these important initiatives.

Equipping CSIS with the Right Resources

    In 2022, CSIS articulated our One Mission, One CSIS strategy to focus on people first, be mission focused, and digital and data driven. In alignment with this strategy, CSIS proposed, and your predecessor endorsed, a strategic package of [REDACTED], for Budget 2023 for investments in [REDACTED]. While Budget 2023 provided some limited funding towards [REDACTED], recognizing the vital role CSIS plays in providing trusted intelligence, advice, and action to keep Canadians safe, secure, and prosperous, I must bring to your attention [REDACTED] gaps.

    Although this was the first budget request of this scope and scale in over a decade, CSIS was only allocated [REDACTED].  These shortfalls therefore present immediate and long-term risks to Canada’s national security.

    CSIS and the Government of Canada will continue to face unmitigated information security risks, including [REDACTED].

    Budget 2023 also announced a spending review that will require every federal organization to reduce overall spending. The results of this reduction in funding, compounded by the lack of new funding as outlined above, will have a considerable impact on the Service’s ability to deliver core, mandated activities, resulting in multiple possible negative impacts. CSIS is already making hard choices through robust internal prioritization and reallocation efforts. CSIS will take a strategic approach to spending reductions and prioritization by undertaking a review of programs and activities to ensure they align with the Government’s priorities and direction to CSIS. My officials and I will soon be seeking your approval of spending review responses for submission to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, as per their direction.

Accountability

    CSIS is subject to a rigorous accountability regime. Numerous legal and policy mechanisms govern the relationship between the Service, you, and Parliament, in recognizing the importance of public confidence in the Service’s accountability. These mechanisms are refined on an ongoing basis, in cooperation with your officials at Public Safety Canada.

    The Service is subject to review by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. CSIS collaborates with these bodies and seeks to implement their recommendations to improve compliance and operational effectiveness. The Intelligence Commissioner reviews and approves certain elements related to the justification framework and the datasets regime.

    CSIS is also subject to scrutiny by the Federal Court.  The Service recognizes the importance of full, frank and fair disclosure in its engagement with the Court, as well as the value of the Court’s guidance in continually refining our requests for and use of, intrusive powers in a manner that upholds the values of Canada. In the last several years, the Court has provided regular positive feedback on our efforts in this regard to affiants, counsel and my senior executive team who have appeared before it.

    Beyond review bodies and the Federal Court, it is essential for CSIS to maintain and strengthen public confidence. To that end, we are conducting sustained outreach to diverse community groups across Canada to discuss CSIS’ role and activities, and better understand community concerns. CSIS’ public engagement also includes participation in public forums such as the speeches I have given in recent years to think tanks and universities across Canada. Engaging in a transparent dialogue with Canadians about national security is essential to raise awareness of threat activities, build resilience against those activities, and establish trust.

    This past year, CSIS has been subject to levels of public scrutiny rarely seen previously. Events such as the Freedom Convoy protests, human source controversies, and ongoing media coverage of foreign interference, have demanded CSIS rededicate itself to transparency and accountability. My officials and I testified before the Public Order Emergency Commission and were highly responsive to the work of the Independent Special Rapporteur. We expect that such mechanisms of public accountability will continue to increase.

People

    I am most proud of the people of CSIS, and look forward to how they will demonstrate to you their  professionalism and commitment to this country. They and their work environment are unique in the Public Service. They are subject to the strictest security requirements and most must perform their duties from secure facilities. Everyday they work across Canada and around the world to protect Canada’s national security. However, our people face considerable challenges in delivering on CSIS’ mandate.  For example, the ideologically motivated target set has presented new challenges to identity management and for officer safety. Longstanding challenges related to morale, recruitment and retention have been exacerbated in recent years. Various initiatives across the Service, such as the implementation of CSIS’ new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, aim to better incorporate the employee experience, and make improvements to the work place and work environment.  While we know that a high number of employees are proud of the work they do, concerted efforts by senior leadership are underway to address employee satisfaction challenges and their underlying causes.     

    The people of CSIS work every day to fulfill their mission to protect Canada and Canadians. I would like to invite you to visit the Service’s National Headquarters, at a time of your convenience, to allow us to brief you in a classified setting on CSIS’ operational priorities, investigations, tools and techniques, and to answer any questions you may have.

    CSIS is at a critical juncture; the risks posed by outdated authorities and chronic under-resourcing are significant. I look forward to working with you and your staff on these critical issues as we ensure that Canadians remain safe and secure.

    Sincerely,

 

David Vigneault

 

cc.        Shawn Tupper, Deputy Minister of Public Safety