Thread by @timmcsorley

This news raises so many questions and concerns globalnews.ca/news/8719009/t… 1/10

1st, in 2019, CSIS was granted broad new data collection powers including to collect, retain & query datasets in 3 categories: Canadian, Foreign & Publicly Available Information. 2 yrs later, we're being told they need more powers, yet they have never adequately explained... 2/10

...how they use the powers they already have. 2nd, as is pointed out, not clear why they need new powers access "basic subscriber information" to address current threats. Both CSIS and RCMP have been revealed to be monitoring activists online for years. 3/10

See, for example, the BCCLA's complaint regarding CSIS: bccla.org/secret-spy-hea…. Nor have they seemed to have trouble collecting information about Muslims in Canada, either. It is surprising that *now* they seem to be concerned about their lawful authority. 4/10

If they are admitting that they weren't actually empowered to collect this information before, great. But not sure we should reward them for that. Third, in the quoted letter, CSIS director says he believes changes to CSIS powers should be "transparent," (5/10)

that "Canadians have a right to know why" CSIS needs new powers, and that a "well-informed public discussion" would "ensure continued trust by the public." But this contradicts what we've seen so far: the original proposal to grant CSIS the power to collect (6/10)

basic subscriber information was tacked on to the end of the highly problematic online harms proposal released in the middle of last summer, as part of a shortened consultation held during an election that provided almost no information or context. (7/10)

It was the near opposite of a "well-informed public discussion," and they were called on it in submissions to the consultation. During hearings on C-59 (2017-19), they gave the bare minimum explanation of how "publicly available information" would be collected or used. (8/10)

This has been much longer than I intended, but in short: we need to be deeply skeptical of any request from CSIS for new powers, and the idea that they will be accompanied by a fulsome, public debate is contradicted by their recent actions. (9/10)

Great work from @alexboutilier for covering this! (10/10)

@alexboutilier Addendum: Great quote from Barbara Perry: “I mean, there were certainly no qualms about surveilling Muslims,” Perry said, referring to post-9/11 intelligence gathering. “It really is interesting that now they’re concerned about needing additional powers,

rather than using the powers that they already have.”