Sunday, June 29, 2025

Canada’s Politics and Government News Source Since 1989

BCCLA case shows how ignorant Canadians really are about CSIS

CSIS is legislatively mandated to investigate threats to the security of Canada, defined under Sec. 2 of the CSIS Act, by the powers granted under Sec. 12. One of these threats is politically motivated violence. Is it possible that some of the opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline could have turned to violence? Absolutely, ergo CSIS did what we ask of it.

Protesters, pictured in Ottawa on Jan. 8, 2018, out in solidarity with Indigenous peoples who had been arrested at Wet’suwet’en camp in British Columbia. Canadians need to appreciate that CSIS acts as an 'early warning system' on threats to national security and public safety. It has a lower threshold of investigative power than law enforcement does. It collects intelligence, not evidence, and does so to keep up on what may morph into real threats to Canada. Everything it did in looking into the Northern Gateway protest movement was not only allowed, it was required, writes Phil Gurski. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Opinion
BY PHIL GURSKI
July 22, 2019

Opinion | BY PHIL GURSKI | July 22, 2019

FOLLOW THE HILL TIMES:

Want to make sure your whole office has the full Hill Times experience?

We have team plans available for companies, organizations, classes, Parliament Hill offices and more. Fill out this form and find out if your team is eligible for a discount.

More Opinion

Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Under Canada’s current system, provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over emergency responses, but as out-of-control wildfires continue to burn, some are pushing again for a national FEMA-like agency to lead the response.

Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Under Canada’s current system, provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over emergency responses, but as out-of-control wildfires continue to burn, some are pushing again for a national FEMA-like agency to lead the response.

BCCLA case shows how ignorant Canadians really are about CSIS

Iran’s uranium enrichment: myths, realities, and what Canada should understand

Canada’s government and banks are stuck on oil—and this is a problem

Flawed in principle and practice: why Canada must say no to Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’

Canada-India reset and diaspora concerns during G7 summit

We need sustainable and evidence-based approaches to preventing mass casualty attacks in Canada

NATO summit ‘not a disaster’ on the Trump front, but a ‘piece of theatre’ otherwise

Carney could ‘weed out bad apples’ with his high expectations for federal public service

What comes next on Canada-EU defence pact?

Senate passes Carney’s controversial nation-building bill, citing ‘trust’ in the government

Q&A | MPs ‘utterly subservient’ to leaders, says Andrew Coyne who proposes a path away from that anti-democratic system

Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Follow us

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

BCCLA case shows how ignorant Canadians really are about CSIS

Get The Foreign Policy Newsletter