The former Supreme Court judge who headed an inquiry into Canada’s worst terrorism incident says the federal government’s new anti-terror legislation is flawed because it fails to ensure that CSIS and the RCMP share information on unfolding threats.
John Major says the crucial lack of co-operation between the two agencies that occurred before the 1985 Air India explosion is still a concern and that a security overseer is needed to ensure information-sharing takes place.
In his 2010 report into the disaster, he said a national security adviser with enhanced powers should be appointed to settle disputes and ensure intelligence is shared between the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and 14 other security agencies and departments. The Conservative government rejected that recommendation at the time.
“They may be entitled to do more than simple intelligence gathering,” he said of CSIS under the proposed new law. “If that’s the case, it can lead to other problems of overlap. The RCMP get a little annoyed and think, ‘Well, let CSIS do it.’ And CSIS doesn’t do it. When you have that many agencies involved, it’s a recipe for confusion unless there’s somebody steering the ship.”
01/03/15 Sean Fine/The Globe and Mail
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John Major says the crucial lack of co-operation between the two agencies that occurred before the 1985 Air India explosion is still a concern and that a security overseer is needed to ensure information-sharing takes place.
In his 2010 report into the disaster, he said a national security adviser with enhanced powers should be appointed to settle disputes and ensure intelligence is shared between the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and 14 other security agencies and departments. The Conservative government rejected that recommendation at the time.
“They may be entitled to do more than simple intelligence gathering,” he said of CSIS under the proposed new law. “If that’s the case, it can lead to other problems of overlap. The RCMP get a little annoyed and think, ‘Well, let CSIS do it.’ And CSIS doesn’t do it. When you have that many agencies involved, it’s a recipe for confusion unless there’s somebody steering the ship.”
01/03/15 Sean Fine/The Globe and Mail
