Canada's Security & Intelligence Community after 9/11: Key Challenges and Conundrums

24 Pages Posted: 16 Sep 2016 Last revised: 7 Oct 2016

See all articles by Craig Forcese

Craig Forcese

University of Ottawa - Common Law Section

Date Written: September 15, 2016

Abstract

The Canadian security & intelligence community’s historical development and scope reflect the country’s relatively favourable geopolitical circumstances. Since 9/11, anti-terrorism has been the country’s clear security priority, possibly to the point of ignoring other critical issues. Because responses to terrorism involve both criminal law and intelligence-led preemptive activities, Canada’s chief police and intelligence agencies now overlap in their investigations to a considerable degree, creating conundrums for both operations and accountability. This article traces the impact of these developments on the Canadian management of national security, and the institutional design of Canada’s S&I community and accountability mechanisms. It concludes with a series of questions Canadian policy makers must ponder in deciding how best to address Canada’s operational and accountability national security challenges.

Keywords: Terrorism, Canada, National Security, Evidence, Law, Operations, CSIS, RCMP

Suggested Citation

Forcese, Craig, Canada's Security & Intelligence Community after 9/11: Key Challenges and Conundrums (September 15, 2016). Ottawa Faculty of Law Working Paper No. 2016-35, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2839622 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2839622

Craig Forcese (Contact Author)

University of Ottawa - Common Law Section ( email )

57 Louis Pasteur Street
Ottawa, K1N 6N5
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.cforcese.ca

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