Parliamentary Committee Notes: CSIS Key Messages & Threat Overview for PROC

UNCLASSIFIED
2023 02 27

Key Messages

• The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) take any allegation of foreign interference very seriously and will not hesitate to use the full mandate of the CSIS Act in order to investigate, advise the Government of Canada, and take measures to reduce these threats.
• CSIS is committed to protecting Canada and Canadians from threats to the security of our country, including threats posed by foreign interference by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 
• We work closely with our trusted Government of Canada partners to address the ever-evolving threat posed by foreign interference by foreign state and non-state actors (state proxies). CSIS works with members of the SITE Task Force to coordinate on matters related to foreign interference and our democratic institutions. 
• CSIS welcomes public discussion on national security issues, and in our inter-connected world, it is essential that we work in close collaboration with our partners and allies around the globe. In 2021, during his speech at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), CSIS Director, David Vigneault noted that the greatest strategic threat to Canada’s national security comes from hostile activities by foreign states who are leveraging all elements of their state apparatus to advance their national interests at Canada’s expense.
• There are important limits to what I can publicly discuss given the need to protect sensitive activities, techniques, methods, and sources of intelligence. These limitations are essential to ensure the safety, security, and prosperity of Canada. Further, the unauthorized disclosure of classified information can threaten the physical safety and security of our human sources and employees.
• We take any allegation of unauthorized disclosure of CSIS information seriously. 

Threat Overview

• CSIS has identified foreign interference (FI) in Canada and targeting of Canadians by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a threat to the security of Canada. 
• To be clear, the threat does not come from the Chinese people, but rather the CCP that is pursuing a strategy for geopolitical advantage on all fronts – economic, technological, political, and military – and using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty.
  • One notable example of this is the CCP’s covert global operation, known as Operation Fox Hunt. Fox Hunt claims to target corruption but is also believed to be used as cover for silencing dissent, pressuring political opponents, forcing repatriations and involuntary returns of PRC nationals or non-PRC nationals born in the PRC, and instilling a general fear of state power no matter where a person is located.
• In our 2021 Public Report, we reported that the PRC relies on non-traditional collectors of intelligence – individuals without formal intelligence training who have relevant subject matter expertise (i.e. scientists, business people) – and other non-transparent means of conducting interference in Canada.
  • The PRC’s Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) seeks to exploit the collaborative, transparent, and open nature of Canada’s private sector, universities and colleges using scholarships, sponsored trips and visiting professorships to recruit individuals to advance PRC objectives.
• Foreign states target members of Canadian communities with harassment, manipulation or intimidation. The PRC uses its United Front Work Department (UFWD) in Canada and around the world to stifle criticism and manipulate Canadian communities.
• The fear of state-backed or state-linked retribution targeting both them and their loved ones, in Canada and abroad, can force individuals to submit to foreign interference.
• When individuals in Canada are subjected to such tactics by foreign states seeking to gather support for or mute criticism of their policies, these activities constitute a threat to Canada’s sovereignty and to the safety of Canadians.
• Canada also remains a target for malicious cyber-enabled espionage, sabotage, foreign influence, and terrorism-related activities, which pose significant threats to Canada’s national security, its interests and its economic stability.
• Cyber actors conduct malicious activities to advance their political, economic, military, security, and ideological interests. They seek to compromise government and private sector computer systems by manipulating their users or exploiting security vulnerabilities.
• CSIS is also aware that cyber actors linked to the PRC continue to target multiple critical sectors within Canada.
  • For example, in 2021, PRC state-sponsored actors engaged in the indiscriminate exploitation of Microsoft Exchange servers, putting several thousand Canadian entities at risk. Victims included governments, policy think tanks, academic institutions, infectious disease researchers, law firms, defense contractors, and retailers.
• Foreign interference can erode trust and threaten the integrity of our democratic institutions, political system, fundamental rights and freedoms, and, ultimately, our sovereignty.
• Regarding FI in Canada’s democracy, CSIS continues to observe pervasive, persistent, and sophisticated state-sponsored threat activity targeting Canadian democratic institutions and continues to see a rise in its frequency and sophistication.
• FI involves foreign states such as the PRC or Russia attempting to covertly influence decisions, events, or election outcomes to better suit their strategic interests. In order to influence political outcomes, they may exert pressure on communities, use covert funding or leverage foreign language media outlets.
• With regard to state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, CSIS has observed social media being leveraged to spread disinformation or run foreign influenced campaigns designed to confuse or divide public opinion, or interfere in healthy public debate.
• Foreign states attempt to manipulate social media to amplify societal differences, sow discord, and undermine confidence in fundamental government institutions or electoral processes. They may use a coordinated approach to amplify a single narrative while also promoting inflammatory content.
• Foreign states may also use cyber-enabled tracking or surveillance of dissidents, those who challenge their rhetoric, or do not support their interests in Canada. Such behaviour can lead to threats or blackmail if the individual fails to cooperate.

Stakeholder engagement:

• CSIS routinely engages with a variety of stakeholders, including elected officials at all levels of government, to raise awareness of the potential threats to the security and interests of Canada and provide advice on how protect themselves and their staff.
• CSIS provides a wide range of intelligence products to advise the Government of Canada on threats to national security including foreign interference.
• In fulfilling our crucial mandate, CSIS has also developed publicly available resources on foreign interference, published in a range of foreign languages in order to ensure that vulnerable communities can access threat information in their language of choice. 
• CSIS continues to engage with Canadian communities, advocacy groups, businesses, industry associations, academic institutions, and all levels of government (federal, provincial/territorial, municipal, and Indigenous) to ensure they are aware of the national security threats facing our country and give them the information they need to protect their interests.
• These efforts are aimed at listening, better understanding the communities that we serve, establishing trusted relationships, and conveying threat-related information to increase awareness and resilience to foreign interference in particular.
• In today’s dynamic threat environment, government, civil society, and the private sector must work together to protect our national interests. Canadians rightly expect that CSIS has the necessary authorities to protect Canada against today’s threats, and is equipped to face the threats of tomorrow.
• As a matter of course, CSIS will continue to review and assess its authorities to address the national security threats and privacy expectations of Canadians both today and in the future.
• Information related to espionage or foreign interference may be reported to CSIS by contacting 613-993-9620 or 1-800-267-7685, or by completing the web form on our website. 
• In addition to their local police, any individual in Canada who is concerned that they are being targeted by state or non-state actors for the purposes of foreign interference should contact the RCMP’s National Security Information Network at 1-800-420-5805, or by email at RCMP.NSIN-RISN.GRC@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Date modified:

2023-07-18