Threats to National Security Will Not Lessen: Former CSIS Director

A House of Commons committee studying the bill to bring in a foreign registry in Canada was told Bill C-70 needs to be passed quickly. That was the message from a former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) as well as two groups representing Chinese Canadians. “I can see no possibility that our geopolitical adversaries will in any way in the foreseeable future modify their behavior so as to lessen threats to our national security,” said Richard Fadden, former director of CSIS. He was speaking at a June 5 meeting of the committee on public safety and national security. “These threats are real and affect virtually every part of our country—private sector, civil society, individuals, and governments at all levels,” he continued. “To not deal with C-70 in the days and weeks ahead, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, in an environment increasingly affected by the possibility of an election, could mean the demise of C-70.”...