Commissioned Paper: The Role of Intelligence in Public Order

The study is broken down into component discussions, some general and high level regarding the nature of intelligence, the organization of the federal national security and intelligence community, the mandates and authorities of relevant NSI departments and agencies and the intersection between the Emergencies Act and the CSIS Act. [...] The RCMP Act contains little direct mention of national security, but RCMP activities in the national security space are undertaken in accordance with the Security Offences Act.46 The Security Offences Act links an RCMP role in national security investigations to the CSIS Act definition of the threats to the security of Canada, and was created at the same time. [...] In terms of support for the NSIA, the Committee noted that two elements of the PCO reported directly to the NSIA: The Security and Intelligence Secretariat and the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat. [...] I think these would be some of the elements that we would want to make sure the Governor in Council would have been aware of while making the decision to invoke or not the Emergencies Act.”127 This seems the crux of the matter when it comes to understanding the nature of CSIS intelligence reporting on the “Freedom Convoy.” There was a mixture of fluidity and volatility in the makeup of the protest. [...] There is a direct link in one of the conditions stated by the Governor in Council to support the invocation of the Act, namely: 39 The potential “for an increase in the level of unrest and violence that would further threaten the safety and security of Canada.”128 That there was a lack of a “full intelligence picture” is a significant admission.