The director of Canada’s spy agency told MPs that the proper protocol had been followed to pass information to the minister of public safety on Beijing threats to parliamentarians, contradicting the minister’s previous testimony.
“My understanding of how the information flows from an agency to the minister is that this is sent to the department—in this case, the Department of Public Safety,” said David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Vigneault said the minister doesn’t directly receive the information via electronic means, but that CSIS sends it via a secure communications channel to the department for onward transmission to the minister.
The CSIS director gave this testimony to the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs committee (PROC) on June 13, in the course of its study of Beijing threats against MPs.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair testified before PROC on June 1 where he blamed CSIS for not providing information about Beijing’s intentions to retaliate against MPs for their stance on human rights in China.
Blair, who was minister of public safety at the time, said that Vigneault “determined this was not information that the minister needed to know, and so I was never notified of the existence of that intelligence, nor was it ever shared with me.”
Blair also said he did not have access to the secure terminal in which the information had been shared and that CSIS should have briefed him directly if it deemed the issue important.
Former special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston wrote in his May 23 report that CSIS had sent an issues management note on the topic to Minister Blair, his chief of staff, and his deputy minister in May 2021.
The note reportedly said there was “intelligence that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] intended to target [Conservative MP Michael] Chong, another MP, and their family in China.”
Conservative MP Michael Cooper sought to clarify the issue with Vigneault. “[Blair] said that you determined that that information was something he didn’t need to know and from what I understand from the answer you just provided, that’s not the case, you didn’t make that decision.”
“That could be an accurate description and I think the fact that we did an issues management note speaks to the notion that we wanted to highlight the information,” Vigneault said.
Information coming to light in recent weeks indicates that no minister was ever informed on the matter of Beijing’s threats to MPs.
Ministers have said they only became aware of it after the Globe and Mail reported on the 2021 CSIS assessment on Chinese interference on May 1.
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme also testified before PROC on June 13 and said he had no previous knowledge of the issue before the media report.
Vigneault told MPs that the media leaks can be a source of “confusion” and “misunderstanding” for victims of foreign interference and also complicates the work of CSIS and its partners, “which is exactly what our adversaries want.”
Conservative MP Luc Berthold asked Vigneault if there is frustration within CSIS given the information it collects falls into “black holes.”
Vigneault said his team is very dedicated to keeping Canadians safe, “hence for sure to have a system where the maximum isn’t taken out of every piece of information absolutely deserves a particular attention.”