Questions mount about oversight of $2B federal infrastructure fund

A $2-billion federal infrastructure fund at the centre of the Conservative government’s 2009 Economic Action Plan was allotted to municipalities in select areas of the country with little apparent oversight, regulation, auditing or attempt to disperse the monies evenly across Canada.

The Municipal Infrastructure Loan Program (MILP) was administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on behalf of the federal government. The $2 billion was to provide low-interest loans to help municipalities pay for infrastructure improvements. The program raised eyebrows in March when it was revealed that well over half the fund went to municipalities in Quebec.

Conservative Public Safety Minister can't keep story straight on C-51 oversight problems

You know who must be really happy it's the weekend?

After the rocky week he's had -- Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.

First, Blaney accused the NDP and 200 civil society groups of "siding with the terrorists" because of their opposition to C-51.

Government refuses prison watchdog’s request for another full term

Ottawa is searching for a new prison ombudsman after refusing to extend the contract for the current Correctional Investigator for Canada beyond one year.

Howard Sapers, who has held the position for eleven years and been a vocal critic of the Harper government’s treatment of mentally ill and Aboriginal inmates, as well as the use of solitary confinement, was recently told he would remain on the job only until a replacement was found.

Will 'Mining' Watchdog Hold Multinationals to Account?

Mining companies are unique in that they have always had to go where resources are physically located. These areas are often remote, environmentally delicate and inhabited by Indigenous people who will not share equally in the economic benefits of development.

Canadian mining companies' international assets have increased in the past 10 years from a value of $30 billion to $210 billion. In light of these investments, some argue that the environment and communities from where these minerals are extracted have sometimes faced negative impacts. For instance, Hudbay Minerals Inc. is expected to go to trial in Ontario for alleged human rights abuses in Guatemala where it and a former subsidiary operated a nickel mine. The company has denied the allegations and they have not been proved in court.

Parliament lost scrutiny of borrowing in omnibus budget bill

Parliament used to annually review the billions of dollars the government borrowed until it unwittingly gave away that power in a clause buried in a budget bill that went unnoticed until it was too late.

Some parliamentarians admit they abdicated their responsibility when the legislative change slipped through unchallenged in the Conservatives’ 2007 omnibus budget bill, a time when no one expected Canada would be racking up deficits again.

Since then, the finance minister has had the authority to borrow and fund Canada’s debt without going to Parliament for permission.

The Security Intelligence Review Committee Is Not Doing the Job

If the prime minister thought public pressure to institute a more robust review system for national security would slowly die down, he has miscalculated.

Last week, a number of former prime ministers and Supreme Court justices penned an open letter calling for the government to keep a closer eye on federal intelligence activities. While certainly increasing the visibility of the issue, the letter was lacking as far as specific policy prescriptions.

There are a number of concrete steps the government should take to address the gap in national security accountability. Chief among those are improving the integrity of the application process for national security warrants, re-establishing the Office of the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and expanding the Security Intelligence Review Committee's (SIRC) size, capabilities and mandate.

CSIS Watchdog Wary About Future Funding, 'Diminishing' Oversight

OTTAWA - The executive director of the watchdog that keeps an eye on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service is questioning whether the review body will have enough resources to do its job in the future.

Michael Doucet, executive director of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, says the watchdog will see a smaller slice of CSIS's activities in coming years.

Edward Snowden says Canadian spying has weakest oversight in Western world

U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden says Canada has one of the "weakest oversight" frameworks for intelligence gathering in the Western world.

Snowden made the comments during a teleconference discussion hosted by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and the Ryerson School of Journalism, moderated by CBC Radio host Anna Maria Tremonti. He was speaking via video link from Russia.

Opposition objections to 'anti-terror' bill go far beyond lack of oversight

For the opposition parties, the lack of effective oversight for Canada's spies and police in the government's new anti-terrorism legislation is one serious flaw. 

It is not the only one, however. 

In a CBC Radio interview on Thursday morning, former Conservative Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day tried to claim that the opposition parties have not said what, substantively, they would change in the proposed legislation, Bill C-51.

Kenney rejects call to increase oversight of national-security agencies

The federal government is rejecting calls for more independent oversight of Canada’s national security agencies even as it speeds passage of legislation that would give sweeping new powers to spies and police in the name of fighting terrorism.

Parliament will vote Monday night on the Anti-Terrorism Act after the Conservatives limited second-reading debate for the legislation to three days. The bill will be sent to a Parliamentary committee for scrutiny. The Tories want the controversial legislation to become law before the summer begins.

Bill C-51: 4 Former PMs Call For Better Intelligence Accountability

OTTAWA - Four former prime ministers and several retired Supreme Court members are among almost two dozen prominent Canadians calling for stronger security oversight.

The statement published Thursday in the Globe and Mail and La Presse newspapers comes as the Conservative government proposes a new, expanded mandate for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

"Protecting human rights and protecting public safety are complementary objectives, but experience has shown that serious human rights abuses can occur in the name of maintaining national security," the statement says.

Bill C-51: CSIS oversight body lacks resources, former member Bob Rae says

As the government's anti-terrorism bill is set to enhance the powers of the national spy agency, a former member of the independent body that watches over the Canadian Security Intelligence Service is concerned it is not equipped to provide sufficient oversight.

Bob Rae — the former premier of Ontario and one-time interim leader of the Liberal Party — was for five years a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which keeps tabs on CSIS.

The heart of our democracy in a time of terror -- In praise of red tape

On the day after a madman stormed Centre Block, there was defiance and appreciation. “We are here, in our seats, in our chamber, in the very heart of our democracy,” Stephen Harper said in the House of Commons on Oct. 23, “and our work goes on.”

Three months later, one of the government’s parliamentary secretaries was sent out to shoo away suggestions that the occupants of those hallowed seats—”In all its diversity of peoples and opinions, this House personifies the spirit of Canada,” the Prime Minister said in October—should have greater insight into the operations of our national security apparatus. “We are not interested in creating needless red tape,” Roxanne James explained.

SIRC's mixed record in watching Canada's spies — remember Air India?

Oversight, oversight. Now that we've seen the sweeping new powers in the government's anti-terrorism bill, everybody wants oversight.

But we already have it, says the government. Don't worry, the prime minister tells the House of Commons, SIRC is there and SIRC will do the job just fine. It "provides robust oversight," he says.

Of course, if you asked a hundred Canadians what "SIRC" means, you might not find many who know it's the Security Intelligence Review Committee, in charge of keeping tabs on CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

B.C. Clinical Trials Oversight Shows Need For Health Sheriffs

Imagine, if you will, being enrolled in a clinical trial and researchers failing to inform you that you had a higher risk of death depending upon which of the two groups in the trial you were assigned to -- that renal failure or stroke were just two of the possible side-effects of one of the treatments, or that one of the groups might not receive patient care to the highest levels available.

Now imagine that you were enrolled without your written consent or knowledge, with researchers relying instead on verbal consent given over the telephone by your legally authorized representative.

More stringent oversight of military intelligence at DND in limbo

National Defence has been looking at ways to introduce more stringent oversight of its intelligence operations, but "fiscal restraint" may prevent the department from implementing the preferred option.

A series of internal documents and slide presentations, obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information legislation, show the head of defence intelligence ordered the exhaustive, independent review — which was conducted in the wake of the scandal involving navy sub-Lt. Jeffery Delisle, who was convicted of spying for the Russians.

Sister of Fired Researcher Losing Faith in Government Probe

The sister of a researcher who committed suicide three months after the British Columbia health ministry fired him said she's unhappy with the progress of a government review into the matter.

"When we first heard that there was to be an independent review we were hopeful," said Linda Kayfish, whose brother Roderick MacIsaac killed himself in 2012. "We have become disheartened," Kayfish said in a prepared statement.

Premier Christy Clark has apologized for the "heavy handed" firings of MacIsaac and others and had said the review was intended to find out what happened. The government announced the review on Oct. 3, initially with a deadline of Oct. 31. The deadline has since been extended to Dec. 19.

Harper Ignored Mulcair's Concerns Over CSIS Watchdog Picks, Documents Reveal

OTTAWA - The Conservative government appointed two members to Canada's spy watchdog despite objections raised by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair during formal consultations on the nominees, documents reveal.

Correspondence with Prime Minister Stephen Harper shows Mulcair opposed appointing former MP Deborah Grey due to her lack of experience with intelligence issues. He also feared the possibility of conflict of interest in the case of Gene McLean, a former security consultant.

Chairs sit empty at Canada’s spy watchdog

OTTAWA - As the government moves to strengthen the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, two of five chairs sit empty on the watchdog agency that oversees the spy service.

Opposition MPs and a prominent national security lawyer say the vacancies leave the Security Intelligence Review Committee weakened at a time of heightened public concern about civil liberties.

Deborah Grey, the committee's interim chairwoman, says she's anxiously awaiting the appointment of two new members to bring the committee up to full strength.

Tories Reject Call For All-Party National Security Oversight Committee

OTTAWA — The Conservative government gave a clear indication Friday it has no plans to support the creation of a parliamentary national security oversight committee although it plans to introduce new sweeping anti-terrorism measures.

Roxanne James, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, told MPs in the Commons Friday that Canada already has "independent robust oversight that actually includes a former member of provincial Parliament from the NDP."