Kent Roach and Craig Forcese: Putting CSIS surveillance on a firmer legal footing

Hard to disagree:

A smarter bill would link the enlargement of CSIS’s powers with better Parliamentary review. It also would address more integrated review of how CSIS’s actions affect terrorism policing and investigations. The Air India commission proposed that this difficult task be handled by a National Security Co-ordinator, but the government rejected this fix.

In sum: The government deserves credit for a legal initiative that will put CSIS extraterritorial surveillance on a more clear legal footing, clearly acknowledges a judge may violate international and foreign law in authorizing this surveillance, and that will protect CSIS sources, subject to an innocence-at-stake exception (in criminal proceedings, at least).

In so doing, it squarely puts on the table important policy issues that should be debated in full. But along the way, it will be useful to add more to the “accountability” side of the “reform of CSIS” ledger.

Kent Roach and Craig Forcese: Putting CSIS surveillance on a firmer legal footing