Canada’s spy agency needs more oversight into operations that include illegal activities in order to gain intelligence, a new watchdog report suggests.
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) is authorized in certain circumstances to take actions that would ordinarily break Canadian law in its pursuit of information about national security threats.
But while the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (CSIRA) found that CSIS stayed within the bounds of the illegal activities they’re permitted to use, the spy agency lacked documented justifications and rationale for taking those actions.
“CSIS has a duty to ensure that all of its operations respect the rule of law, even more so when those operations require activity that would otherwise be considered illegal,” the review body wrote in a report released publicly Tuesday.
The review body examined operations from 2022 and 2023 where CSIS operations involved actions or omissions that would normally break Canadian laws. The powers were granted to the agency by the Liberals’ 2017 national security reforms, which also placed limitations on what illegal actions the spy agency can engage in.
According to CSIS 2025 report, the powers were authorized 173 times in 2022-23 and 178 times in 2023-24.
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CSIS is still prohibited from certain activities, such as causing bodily harm, obstructing justice, violating someone’s sexual integrity and torture. Instead, eight “classes” of illegal activities have been approved by both the minister of public safety and the independent intelligence commissioner — although each instance requires authorization and written justification and explanation after the fact.
It’s the documentation that NSIRA found issue with.
In some cases, the review agency said, CSIS operatives failed to document the nature of the threat that led them to believe illegal activities were justified. In others, CSIS employees did not document the nature of the illegal activities or their negative consequences.
In other operations, the agency didn’t detail what alternatives were considered before engaging in illegal activity.
NSIRA noted that the team within CSIS tasked with oversight for these activities is under-resourced, and said increased internal guidance and review is needed to make sure CSIS is following the rules.
“Many of the deficiencies … noted above can be attributed to confusion or lack of understanding of the requirements and the consequences of not meeting them,” the review agency wrote.
CSIS did not immediately respond to Global News’ request for comment Tuesday.
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