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Canada Getting More Secret Police JIM BRONSKILL - CP VIA theFilter.ca \|\| May 12, 2006 Related - What is Wrong With Canada ? OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's public safety minister says the country needs a more robust foreign spying capability to counter terrorists out to attack the civilized world. Stockwell Day told a conference on national security Wednesday the government would either create a new spy agency or expand the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "We're having discussions and looking at those possibilities of which one would be the most efficient and effective," he said during the event sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada. Day suggested the money needed to launch a new service - expected to be tens of millions of dollars - would not be a barrier. "We're putting safety and security first, recognizing that there will be an investment required," he said after the meeting. "When you look around the world at incidents over the last few years, certainly with groups like al-Qaida and others who have virtually declared war on the civilized, democratic world, the need for foreign-intelligence gathering is very clear." The comments came a day after disclosure of a November 2005 report in which CSIS director Jim Judd told the former public safety minister it was "now probable" an attack by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network or its affiliates would occur on Canadian soil. Day said Wednesday the Conservative government had since taken "some very significant action related to our concerns about terrorism," such as adding the Tamil Tigers to the federal roster of blacklisted organizations. Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com During the election campaign, the Tories promised to bolster Canada's foreign-intelligence gathering, though they were unclear about how this might be done. The legislation governing CSIS allows the agency to collect intelligence, in Canada or overseas, in investigating threats to national security such as a terrorist plot. But while CSIS can gather this sort of "security intelligence" anywhere, it can collect "foreign intelligence" - for example, word that a distant country is spying on its neighbour - only if it comes across the information within Canada. Day rejected the notion Canada could simply continue to receive foreign intelligence from close allies, such as Britain and the United States, instead of expanding its own collection efforts. "We have to never become complacent in this arena," he said. "We have to be vigilant, and we've made a commitment to expand our capacity to have the type of information that would enhance our security." Day said there was no deadline for making a decision on the preferred foreign-intelligence option. An internal CSIS task force has called for fresh resources to bolster the spy agency's work abroad to fight terrorism. The blueprint was delivered to Judd in December. However, it remains to be seen whether any additional money and personnel would be handed to CSIS or an entirely new spy outfit. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Weekly Features Archive
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Canada Getting More Secret Police

JIM BRONSKILL - CP VIA theFilter.ca || May 12, 2006

Related - What is Wrong With Canada ?

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's public safety minister says the country needs a more robust foreign spying capability to counter terrorists out to attack the civilized world.

Stockwell Day told a conference on national security Wednesday the government would either create a new spy agency or expand the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "We're having discussions and looking at those possibilities of which one would be the most efficient and effective," he said during the event sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada.

Day suggested the money needed to launch a new service - expected to be tens of millions of dollars - would not be a barrier.

"We're putting safety and security first, recognizing that there will be an investment required," he said after the meeting.

"When you look around the world at incidents over the last few years, certainly with groups like al-Qaida and others who have virtually declared war on the civilized, democratic world, the need for foreign-intelligence gathering is very clear."

The comments came a day after disclosure of a November 2005 report in which CSIS director Jim Judd told the former public safety minister it was "now probable" an attack by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network or its affiliates would occur on Canadian soil.

Day said Wednesday the Conservative government had since taken "some very significant action related to our concerns about terrorism," such as adding the Tamil Tigers to the federal roster of blacklisted organizations.

Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com

During the election campaign, the Tories promised to bolster Canada's foreign-intelligence gathering, though they were unclear about how this might be done.

The legislation governing CSIS allows the agency to collect intelligence, in Canada or overseas, in investigating threats to national security such as a terrorist plot.

But while CSIS can gather this sort of "security intelligence" anywhere, it can collect "foreign intelligence" - for example, word that a distant country is spying on its neighbour - only if it comes across the information within Canada.

Day rejected the notion Canada could simply continue to receive foreign intelligence from close allies, such as Britain and the United States, instead of expanding its own collection efforts.

"We have to never become complacent in this arena," he said. "We have to be vigilant, and we've made a commitment to expand our capacity to have the type of information that would enhance our security."

Day said there was no deadline for making a decision on the preferred foreign-intelligence option.

An internal CSIS task force has called for fresh resources to bolster the spy agency's work abroad to fight terrorism.

The blueprint was delivered to Judd in December.

However, it remains to be seen whether any additional money and personnel would be handed to CSIS or an entirely new spy outfit.

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