Late on Thursday the Harper government finally announced the new head of this nation’s anemic review agency for Canada’s spy service, CSIS. The timing was so predictable: delivered while Parliament and much of the media were still preoccupied with the exhaustive voting on the opposition’s voluminous amendments to the Conservative government’s omnibus budget bill.
I suppose the government’s thinking was that nobody would notice or particularly care about an appointment that could, in fact, have profound consequences for Canadians’ lives and security. Traditionally, the powers-that-be in Ottawa have treated the review of one of Canada’s most powerful and intrusive agencies almost as an afterthought.
Then, of course, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s choice to fill the position that has sat vacant for months was also depressingly predictable. Like his Liberal predecessors, Harper dipped into the ever-ready patronage bag to pluck former Tory cabinet minister Chuck Strahl to take on the chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC).
I don’t know Strahl beyond his political résumé, but I have read that he is a decent man who continues to wage a valiant battle against lung cancer. However noble his private duel with a life-threatening disease, Strahl’s public responsibilities as a cabinet minister have had little, if anything, to do with the world of counter-intelligence or counter-espionage.
Indeed, Strahl served as the minister of agriculture, minister of Indian and northern affairs, and minister of transport and infrastructure before retiring on the eve of the 2011 federal election to set up a consulting business in his hometown of Chilliwack, B.C.
He joins a long list of retired Conservative and Liberal politicians who have been appointed to head the review agency largely because the part-time job has offered ex-politicians something seemingly intriguing to do in their spare time.
Several months ago in this space, I encouraged the prime minister to seize the opportunity and make an epiphanic choice in the wake of the controversial exit of the former SIRC chair who was ensnared in a cobweb of connections with a dubious Israeli businessman and self-proclaimed Mossad spy.
At the time, I named several notable Canadians who I believe have the requisite skills, knowledge and experience of the often sordid, mundane but complex netherworld of security-intelligence to become SIRC chair. Clearly, the prime minister rejected my well-meant advice.
Nevertheless, the Harper government has, I believe, done a grave disservice to Canadians in appointing yet another politician as SIRC chair.
Objectively speaking, what are Strahl’s qualifications? Apparently, he is an agreeable, hard-working and loyal fellow. That’s fine. The chief of the defence staff appears to be an agreeable, hard-working and loyal fellow too, but he also has a long and intimate history inside Canada’s military. Our often stern-looking auditor-general (AG) appears to be a serious, dedicated mandarin as well. Beyond his dour public demeanor, the AG certainly has an expert grasp on Byzantine accounting methods and ledgers. I could go on, but you get the salient point.
The woefully inexperienced Strahl takes over SIRC’s helm at a critical time. The sister agency that occasionally trained a keen eye over CSIS’s day-to-day operations — the Inspector General (IG) — was shuttered several weeks ago by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews as a “cost-saving measure.” Few observers of Canada’s security-intelligence infrastructure bought that absurd rationale since the IG enjoyed a paltry $1 million budget.
Since its inception in 1984, a number of IGs produced incisive and damning annual reports that rankled CSIS and the Prime Minister’s Office. It appears that the proverbial straw that triggered the office’s closure was a succession of bluntly critical reports by the last IG, Eva Plunkett.
With Plunkett out of the way, according to Toews, the IG’s responsibilities would be assumed by SIRC. But Toews still hasn’t explained precisely when and how that’s going to happen. Perhaps Toews’ former cabinet colleague will figure it out as he gets acquainted with his new, part-time job.
Significantly, in announcing Strahl’s appointment, the Harper government made no mention of giving any more money to SIRC to fulfill its old and new responsibilities. Nor did it announce that it would hire desperately needed experienced investigators. Nor did it decide to make Strahl’s post and SIRC’s four other appointed members full-time positions, which finally would have signaled that oversight of CSIS is serious work requiring full-time attention.
No, none of that happened. Instead, all Canadians got was a buried bit of news about another good, old friend of the government getting a job that requires experienced, independent leadership, and a lot more power and money.
It’s oh so predictable.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Andrew Mitrovica
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