Watchdog: Intelligence Gathering Unit Puts Canadian Diplomats in Legal 'Gray Zone'

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Canada's National Security and Intelligence Review Agency said in a newly released report that a controversial intelligence unit within Global Affairs Canada (GAC) operates in a 'gray zone' between an intelligence service and regular diplomatic reporting, potentially exposing diplomats to retaliatory measures abroad.1
  • According to the watchdog, the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) could cause unnecessary reputational harm to Canada due to inadequate training and insufficient understanding of diplomatic conventions.2
  • Though the report from the first-ever review of the specialized unit was concluded three years ago, the release process only began in early 2022. Following an access to information request for a copy of the report, GAC took over the process, allowing it to decide what information should be redacted.3
  • Scrutiny over GSRP has been renewed recently in the wake of reports that Canadian consultant Michael Spavor was seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from Ottawa over claims he unwittingly provided intelligence on North Korea to former GRSP officer Michael Kovrig. Both of them spent nearly three years jailed in China on espionage charges.4
  • Last month, however, Kovrig told Global News that he was never involved in any espionage activities, adding that Spavor knew he was a diplomat who wrote reports for the Canadian government and an International Crisis Group adviser who wrote for the public.5
  • Chinese authorities claimed that Spavor was a key informant of former Canadian diplomat Kovrig and provided him with confidential, second-tier state secrets for a long period. Both of them were released on bail and allowed to depart for Canada in September 2021.6

Sources: 1National Post, 2CTV News, 3The Globe and Mail, 4The Guardian, 5Global News and 6Global Times.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Globe and Mail. Global Affairs Canada has irresponsibly put Canada's interests and security, as well as its diplomats and GRSP contacts in danger, as the department wrongfully insists that diplomatic personnel could gain access to protected or classified information without violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The GSPR must have its operational basis properly reformed to avoid becoming an even bigger problem for Canada.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CIPS. It would be foolish to change a decades-old, successful program that delivers high-quality political reports, such as the GRSP, based on media hysteria and ill-founded allegations. The fact that China detained Kovrig and Spavor as hostages to be exchanged for a Chinese national arrested in Canada has nothing to do with this alleged 'gray zone,' as neither of them enjoyed diplomatic immunities.

Predictions