CSIS didn't feel convoy protests constituted a national security threat under the law: documents

Canada's intelligence agency didn't believe the self-styled Freedom Convoy constituted a threat to national security under its enabling legislation, according to a document previewed as part of the Emergencies Act inquiry Monday. 

Like all witnesses appearing before the Public Order Emergency Commission, David Vigneault, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), sat for an interview with the inquiry's lawyers over the summer.

A summary of that conversation was shared with journalists Monday.

"Mr. Vigneault stated that at no point did the service assess that the protests in Ottawa or elsewhere [those referred to as the "Freedom Convoy" and related protests and blockades in January-February 2022] constituted a threat to security of Canada as defined by section 2 of the CSIS Act and that CSIS cannot investigate actively constituting lawful protest," reads the document.

The CSIS Act defines "threats to the security of Canada" as:

In order to declare a public order emergency, the Emergencies Act requires that there be "an emergency that arises from threats to the security of Canada that are so serious as to be a national emergency."

The act defers to CSIS's definition of "threats to the security of Canada."

Vigneault told the commission lawyers he learned the Emergencies Act cited the CSIS Act once the government began to seriously consider invoking the legislation around Feb. 10-13.

"He requested that the service prepare a threat assessment on the risks associated with the invocation of the Emergencies Act," said Vigneault's interview summary.

"He felt an obligation to clearly convey the service's position that there did not exist a threat to the security of Canada as defined by the Service's legal mandate."

That assessment showed CSIS felt that invoking the Emergencies Act would "galvanize" members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy and radicalize some toward engaging in violence,

In his interview with commission lawyers, Vigneault also said that the threshold imposed by the CSIS Act is very specific.

"For example, the determination that something may not constitute a threat to national security under section 2 of the act does not preclude a determination that a national security threat under a broader definition, or from the perspective of the public, does exist," reads the summary of Vigneault's interview.

Lawyer Brendan Miller represents convoy protest organizers, including Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. He raised Vigneault's comments as part of his cross examination of public safety officials.