Chapter 4: National Security and Intelligence Activities
Global Affairs Canada's Intelligence Activities
Special Report on the National Security and Intelligence Activities of Global Affairs Canada
122. GAC conducts a number of national security and intelligence activities by virtue of the Crown prerogative and responsibility for the Department's global network abroad. The following section examines the activities that are led by GAC and are either exclusively carried out by the Department or are conducted at its direction. It first describes the Department's intelligence collection and assessment activities, which involve specialized diplomatic reporting from its global network of missions and assessments of threats to government personnel and assets abroad. It then discusses GAC's national security activities that seek to "push the border out" through international security programming. Finally, it describes the Department's role in responding to national security-related incidents abroad, lessons learned from past incidents and two recent case studies of terrorist hostage takings of Canadians.
Global Affairs Canada's Intelligence Activities
123. Intelligence informs a wide range of the Department's activities, from the management of bilateral relations to the promotion and protection of Canada's interests abroad. Footnote 274 The critical role of intelligence in its activities renders GAC a primary driver of the government's intelligence collection priorities and among the largest consumers of intelligence in government. Footnote 275 By virtue of its network of missions abroad, GAC is also an important collector and assessor of intelligence. Its collection activities are largely confined to privileged diplomatic reporting, which ranges from traditional political and economic reporting to specialized reporting on security and intelligence issues. Footnote 276 GAC's intelligence assessment activities, in turn, are focused on evaluating threats to Canada's missions and personnel abroad. The following section examines the Department's intelligence collecti.on and assessment activities, with a focus on the authorities, history and governance of those activities.
GAC's intelligence activities
124. The Committee defines intelligence as activities involving the use of covert, clandestine or privileged sources or methods. GAC's intelligence collection activities are limited to privileged diplomatic reporting on security and intelligence issues and liaison with specific countries. The Department's authority to collect this form of intelligence derives from the Crown prerogative. Diplomatic reporting and foreign intelligence is an integral part. of the conduct of diplomacy and is essential to support the Minister's responsibilities over foreign relations outlined in section 1O of the DFATD Act. Footnote 277 GAC's activities are overt and form part of routine diplomatic reporting. GAC conducts these reporting activities in accordance with Article 3 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which defines one of the functions of a diplomatic mission as ascertaining "by all lawful means, conditions and developments in the receiving state and reporting thereon to the government of the sending state." Footnote 278
Intelligence Liaison Officer Program
125. GAC's Intelligence Liaison Officers (ILOs) represent Canada's security and intelligence community in key allied capitals of Washington, London, Canberra ***. The ILO program originated in 1946, when non-military departments first joined Canada's Joint Intelligence Committee. Footnote 279 At the time, the Joint Intelligence Committee was responsible for the policy direction and planning of Canada's foreign intelligence capabilities and served as the focal point for liaison with counterpart committees in Five Eyes capitals. In the early 1950s, diplomats from the Department were assigned as Joint Intelligence Committee liaison officers in Washington and London in an effort to enhance this liaison function. Footnote 280 In 1972, the Joint Intelligence Committee was reorganized into the Intelligence Advisory Committee and the liaison officer role was expanded to include a post in Canberra. ***.
126. The role of the ILO has evolved since it was first established. Initially, ILOs were the primary contact point for the intelligence and security agencies of Canada's closest allies. Over time, bilateral relationships between counterpart organizations matured and the ILO's role pivoted more toward coordination and liaison with intelligence assessment and policy counterparts. GAC and PCO's Security and Intelligence Secretariat jointly manage today's ILO program, though the Department provides funding and staff for these positions. Footnote 281 The primary responsibilities of ILOs are to exchange information with the host country's intelligence assessment and policy groups, monitor and report on the host country's intelligence priorities and national security policy developments, and coordinate the activities of other mission-based security and intelligence liaison officials. Footnote 282 The ILOs also play an important role in promoting Canada's contributions to the Five Eyes alliance, and provide the security and intelligence community with a strategic perspective on developments in allied capitals. Footnote 283
127. The ILO's role differs from country to country. The ILO in Washington manages Canada's relationship with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the CIA's Directorate of Analysis, and the National Intelligence Council. The ILO in London represents Canada at the U.K. Joint Intelligence Committee, the body responsible for intelligence assessment and coordination, and liaises with the Joint Intelligence Organization, the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Research Analyst Group. In Canberra, the ILO manages engagement with both Australia and New Zealand, and its main interlocutors are the Office of National Intelligence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Australia, and the National Assessment Bureau and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for New Zealand. ***. Footnote 284
128. There are no policies or procedures governing the ILO program nor is it subject to regular review or reporting requirements. Documentation provided to the Committee on this program was composed entirely of job descriptions for individual postings. The ILO's coordination role at missions is not formalized in written procedures or through formal committee structures, but rather, it involves frequent interactions with security and intelligence partners at missions to exchange information and manage visits from senior Canadian officials. The program has never been subject to internal evaluation or audit to assess its performance, and the Department has not instituted any reporting requirements to the Minister on the program's activities. Footnote 285
Global Security Reporting Program
129. The Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) is a specialized diplomatic reporting program whose purpose is to collect information on security and stability in select countries abroad using overt diplomatic means. The government created the GSRP in 2002 to increase the Department's capacity to report on security issues in countries and regions of strategic interest to Canada, following decades of decline in this type of reporting after the end of the Cold War. Footnote 286 Funding initially came through the Public Safety and Anti-Terrorism Initiative, a broader government effort to increase federal capacity for security, policing and international counter-terrorism capacity building in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Footnote 287 In the following decades, the GSRP grew from 11 positions in 2002 to 31 in 2021, providing reporting coverage across the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and East and Southeast Asia. Footnote 288 While still principally focused on security and stability reporting, the program's mandate has also expanded to include reporting on threats to missions and mission personnel. Footnote 289 The Intelligence Assessment and Reporting Division manages the program and operates on an annual budget of $1 million. Footnote 290
130. GSRP officers are accredited and declared diplomats whose primary responsibility is to collect information overtly through networks of government and non-governmental contacts on intelligence priorities or requirements not covered by other members of the security and intelligence community. Footnote 291 They are expected to dedicate 90% of their time to reporting, and produce single-source reports based on interviews with local contacts including government officials, journalists, academics and activists. GSRP reports are disseminated within the security and intelligence community and across the Five Eyes. Footnote 292 GSRP officers do not recruit sources or offer money, services or promises in exchange for information. Footnote 293 According to a 2018 internal evaluation, domestic and allied partners ascribe a high value to GSRP reporting, characterizing it as a "uniquely valuable product, which fills a clear niche within the security and intelligence community." Footnote 294
131. Governance of the GSRP has evolved since its creation in 2002. In response to recommendations from a 2008 evaluation, the program established an interdepartmental committee to provide guidance and oversight for the program and ensure alignment with the national intelligence priorities. Footnote 295 In 2010, the Department established a performance management framework with performance standards based on the number of reports produced, the timelines of those reports and client satisfaction. Footnote 296 In 2012, the program developed the Global Security Reporting Handbook, outlining the program's guiding principles, reporting process and guidance on interview methods. Footnote 297 The program's updated 2016 Management Accountability Framework further details the program's governance and accountability structure at missions abroad and at headquarters. Footnote 298 The program is subject to Treasury Board's Policy on Results. As such, the program relevance and performance has undergone internal evaluations in 2008, 2013 and 2018. The most recent evaluation noted that one of the program's forward planning priorities is to increase governance and the specialization of officers. Footnote 299
132. In 2020, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) conducted a review of the GSRP program. To avoid duplication, the Committee did not review the program other than to describe it here. That said, a number of NSIRA's findings are consistent with the Committee's own findings in some areas, including as they relate to governance and authority structures, oversight, risk assessments and deconfliction with other government organizations. Footnote 300 The Committee may conduct a review of this program under its own mandate at an appropriate time in the future.
GAC's intelligence assessment activities
133. The Intelligence Bureau prepares intelligence assessments related to threats to missions, personnel and assets abroad, and to support the policy deliberations of senior officials and Ministers. It also works to secure the Department's most classified communications network. The following section briefly describes these responsibilities.
134. GAC manages over 175 missions in 110 countries. As part of its management responsibilities, the Department has a duty of care for all Canada-based staff and their dependants 24 hours a day and to locally engaged staff during working hours. Footnote 301 GAC's Intelligence Bureau monitors classified and open source information to assess and identify threats to Canadian missions. Footnote 302 The Intelligence Bureau produces baseline threat assessments for over 175 missions every one to three years, depending on the overall threat level of the mission. Footnote 303 The Intelligence Bureau's assessments examine threats to diplomatic personnel, assets and information in six categories: criminality, civil unrest, terrorism and extremism, armed conflict, espionage, and natural disasters. Footnote 304 The assessments measure the frequency and severity of events that could affect the area surrounding the mission, and compare it to what officials could expect in the national capital region. Each threat category is assigned a threat rating from low to critical, and each threat category is assessed against its potential harm to personnel, assets and information. Footnote 305 Starting in 2019, the Intelligence Bureau also prepares a wide range of intelligence assessments and other analytic products to support policy deliberations of senior officials and to brief Ministers.
135. Responsibility for the protection of Canada's global network of missions resides with the Chief Security Officer in the Consular, Security and Emergency Management branch. However, the Intelligence Bureau plays an important role in the development of risk assessments and the protection of missions connected to the Canadian Top Secret Network. There are currently *** missions with access to the Top Secret network. Footnote 306 In 2017, GAC established a division within the Intelligence Bureau responsible for the management of highly classified communications at missions abroad. Footnote 307 This Intelligence Access and Countermeasures section works closely with CSE to accredit and protect GAC's signals intelligence secure areas. This section is responsible for ensuring the security of the Top Secret communications infrastructure in Ottawcl and at missions abroad, and its analysis team specializes in threat and briefing products focused on the security and integrity of GAC's secure areas. Footnote 308