Canada’s spy agency chief and other senior intelligence officials spoke today as questions continue over how much, if any, sensitive information can be shared with the public in an investigation into allegations of foreign election interference. I’m testifying.
Secretary Marie-Josée Hoag is investigating whether China, Russia, India and other countries interfered in the last two elections, and how information about foreign interference flowed through the federal government. . The investigation was announced after media reports accused the Chinese government of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
But before the investigation digs into questions of who knew what and when, it must first consider how to discuss the issue publicly while protecting the sources and methods.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault is scheduled to appear at the inquiry this morning. He is expected to be questioned about discussing classified information in public.
On Wednesday, one of his predecessors, former CSIS director Richard Fadden, said Canada should be more transparent about national security information.
“Things are way more classified than they need to be,” he says. “I think agency culture, workload and tradition tend to be overprotective.”
The committee will also hear from two other senior intelligence officials today. Alia Tayeb, Deputy Director of Signals Intelligence at the Communications Security Facility, and Dan Rogers, Deputy National Security and Intelligence Adviser based in the Privy Council Office.
Hogue opened the hearing by saying he was on a mission to uncover the truth and share as much as possible with Canadians.
