US EditionDebate over a foreign spy service for Canada influenced by allies, money: study
The study reveals ally pressure, budget limits, and unclear intelligence needs shaped Canada’s repeated proposals for a foreign spy agency from 1945 to 2007, says researcher Alan Barnes.
- Alan Barnes's paper published in the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal shows Ottawa's decades-long debate on a spy agency was shaped by allies, budgets, and rivalries using records from 1945 to 2007.
- Deliberations reflected a blurred line between foreign and security intelligence, with deputy‑minister meetings considering a unit modelled on Britain and Australia amid post‑Cold War and about 9‑11 demands.
- Allied agencies directly engaged Canadian officials when an SIS officer visited in 1951, CIA approached John Starnes, and RCMP illegal acts helped spur CSIS's creation in 1984.
- Recent frictions with Washington have renewed debate as Ottawa's federal departments remain divided, with both seeing themselves as best placed to lead, while the 1990s–2007 proposal period produced uneven plans.
- Most proposals lacked detail and were scaled back, with Barnes finding the most fundamental missing element was clarity about information needs and costs, including a modest plan in the Caribbean.
41 Articles
41 Articles
Debate over a foreign spy service for Canada is influenced by allies and money: study
The decades-long debate over whether Canada should create a CIA-style foreign spy agency has been coloured by pressure from allies, budgetary restraint and internal federal rivalries, a new study reveals.
Debate over foreign spy service for Canada influenced by allies, money: Study
OTTAWA -- The decades-long debate over whether Canada should create a CIA-style foreign spy agency has been coloured by pressure from allies, budgetary restraint and internal federal rivalries, a new study reveals.
The long debate over the creation of a Canadian foreign intelligence agency has been influenced by pressure from allies, fiscal restraints and internal rivalries within the federal government, says a new study.
The Toronto Star
Debate over a foreign spy service for Canada influenced by allies, money: study
OTTAWA - The decades-long debate over whether Canada should create a CIA-style foreign spy agency has been coloured by pressure from allies, budgetary restraint and internal federal rivalries, a new
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