Canada’s spy agency failed to fully consider human toll when disrupting threats: report

The watchdog said its findings show CSIS cannot be trusted to follow the law or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it is granted secret powers.

A new report from the federal spy watchdog says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service failed to adequately consider the potentially serious adverse effects on people and their families when using its powers to disrupt potential threats.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report also finds the spy service takes an “overly narrow” approach when determining whether a judicial warrant is required for a particular threat disruption measure.

Eight years ago, Parliament passed legislation allowing CSIS to go beyond its traditional role of gathering information about espionage and terrorism to actively derailing suspected schemes.

For instance, the disruption powers could permit CSIS to thwart travel plans, cancel bank transactions or covertly interfere with radical websites.

The Ottawa-based International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group said the review agency’s findings show CSIS cannot be trusted to follow the law or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it is granted secret powers to disrupt the lives of Canadians.

Under the law, CSIS needs “reasonable grounds to believe” there is a security threat before taking measures to disrupt it. The spy agency also requires a court warrant whenever proposed disruption measures would limit a freedom guaranteed by the Charter of Rights or otherwise breach Canadian law.

In addition, the measures must be reasonable and proportional in the circumstances, and take into account the availability of other means to reduce the threat, as well as foreseeable effects on third parties, including their privacy.

The review agency focused on the extent to which CSIS appropriately identified, documented and considered negative effects that the spy service’s measures could have on people.