SIRC calls for “fundamental reassessment” of how CSIS carries out its work
“The time may have come for CSIS to undertake a fundamental reassessment of how it carries out its work, and to shift its operational culture to keep pace with recent political and legal developments.”
– Gary Filmon, Chair of SIRC
The Security and Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) has released its report into how CSIS handled the Omar Khadr case, finding, not surprisingly, that CSIS ignored human rights concerns when it decided to fly to Guantanamo Bay to interrogate the then teen-aged Khadr, despite ample publicity about prisoner abuse at the facility at that time. SIRC concludes that CSIS needs guidance from the minister on how to “implement measures to embed the values stemming from recent political, judicial and legal developments in its day-to-day work in order to maintain its own credibility, and to meet growing and evolving expectations of how an intelligence agency should operate and perform in a contemporary democratic society.” This is especially important because, the report says, “in light of ongoing discussions to expand CSIS’s mandate to include foreign intelligence collection, it is also important for the Service to demonstrate that it has the professionalism, experience and know-how required to make the difficult decisions that arise when conducting operations abroad.”
No kidding. Problem is, despite all the recent revelations about CSIS complicity in the overseas detention and torture of Canadian citizens, and misleading the courts in security certificate cases, the government has yet to find the courage to say or do anything about what’s been revealed, or what it’s going to do about it.
Here’s the summary of findings from the report, which is available here:
In the weeks following news of Khadr’s arrest, CSIS acted as a valuable conduit of information by gathering and relaying intelligence from foreign partners to domestic agencies, and providing advice to the Canadian government on the Khadr matter.
The Canadian government fully supported CSIS’s visit to and interview of Khadr at Guantanamo Bay in February 2003, as this initiative was part of a “whole of government” effort.
At the time of Khadr’s arrest in Afghanistan, CSIS was actively investigating because it had reasonable grounds to believe their activities represented threats to the security of Canada. The goal of CSIS’s interview with Khadr was to collect intelligence on these threats.
Apart from two exchanges with American partners, which fell under conditions set by US authorities, SIRC saw no indication during the review period that CSIS shared information emanating from its interviews with Khadr with any other foreign agency.
SIRC found that CSIS’s sharing of information with domestic partners relating to the Khadr matter was lawful and appropriate.
SIRC notes that there was widespread media reporting on allegations of mistreatment and abuse of detainees in US custody in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay prior to CSIS interviewing him at Guantanamo Bay.
In light of public allegations of mistreatment of detainees, SIRC believes that CSIS failed to give full consideration to Khadr’s possible mistreatment by US authorities before deciding to interact with them on this matter.
SIRC believes that CSIS failed to take into account that while in US custody, Khadr had been denied certain basic rights which would have been afforded to him as a youth. As well, prior to his interview with the Service, Khadr had received no guidance or assistance from any adult who had his best interests in mind since he had been kept incommunicado and been denied access to legal counsel, consular representation or family members.
SIRC believes that had CSIS followed policy on investigative activities abroad and prepared a detailed request for approval, it would have compelled a discussion and consideration of factors such as Khadr’s age, detention conditions and legal status before deciding to travel to Guantanamo Bay.
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