A Hells Angels hitman who killed a man in Nova Scotia can’t fathom why the Parole Board of Canada takes his victim’s family’s word over his when it comes to granting him freedom.

Dean Daniel Kelsie is serving a life sentence for the October 2000 shooting death of Sean Simmons in the lobby of a Dartmouth, N.S., apartment building. The court heard Simmons was killed for having had an affair with the wife of a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

In a new appeal, Kelsie, who is in his early 50s, argued unsuccessfully against the decision this past spring to yank his day parole.

“You submit that the board’s reasons demonstrate that the victims directly influenced the board’s decision, and you wonder about the actual impact of their presence and more importantly, the weight that the board gave to their representations and attendance,” said a new decision on Kelsie from the Parole Board of Canada’s Appeal Division.

“You are of the opinion that the board’s decision fails to consider the full context of your case, and that the decision was unduly influenced by the victims who were present. You argue that the victim’s statements and presence were given too much weight in the assessment and that you do not understand why their statements were given more weight than your explanations.”

The parole board revoked Kelsie’s day parole on March 18 because inmates at the Quebec halfway house where he was staying were scared to sleep in the same room as him, and his handlers couldn’t find another halfway house that would take him.

This past June, Kelsie asked the appeal division to overturn that, according to the decision dated Nov. 7. He argued that the parole board “failed to observe a principle of fundamental justice” and its “duty to act fairly.”

The parole board countered that it considered “the poignant and emotional statements made by victims at the outset of the hearing that highlight the trauma that continues to be caused by (Kelsie’s) actions.”

It noted those are important because they “give a face to the consequences of the crimes” and that the parole board is legally obliged to consider them.

The decision from the Appeal Division notes it could not find “any grounds that would lead to the conclusion that the board was unduly influenced by the statements and that the board’s decision was unreasonable because of this consideration.”

The Appeal Division found the parole board respected Kelsie’s right to be heard.

According to the March decision that sent Kelsie back to prison, his non-verbal communication could be intimidating, and his roommates in a Quebec halfway house found some of his comments threatening.

At his appeal, Kelsie called that a “misperception from others,” and he noted he’d “never been double bunked before and that” caused “adjustment issues.”

Kelsie told the Appeal Division that he’s had “no more violence in” him since 2015.

“At the hearing, you admitted that you needed to address your attitude,” said the new decision. “You explained that you … have difficulty communicating with others and that you do not realize that your attitude is intimidating.”

Since he returned to prison, Kelsie told the Appeal Division he’s been working on himself, and that he was “able to defuse a potentially conflictual situation by taking a step back and discussing the issues with the other offender.”

The Appeal Division found that Kelsie’s “point of view and explanations were considered” during the March hearing that sent him back to prison. “While you believe that your explanations during the hearing were not considered, the Appeal Division finds that this was not the case.”

It was “within the board’s discretion,” despite Kelsie’s explanations, to find he “demonstrated a lack of insight” and that he was “unable to adjust” his behaviour, despite attempts by his case management team to keep him out of prison.

Support from the halfway house where he was living until this past March “was withdrawn despite your commitment to a behavioural contract,” said the Appeal Division, noting Kelsie “also continued to experience challenges with co-workers and (was) sometimes an instigator.”

It stressed “both positive and negative information was considered by the board,” before it sent Kelsie back to prison.

“Your right to be heard was respected.”

Kelsie conceded that he has “committed very serious crimes” but that he’s changed since then.

“Overall, you believe that the decision to revoke your release is unreasonable because it fails to explain why your perceived negative attitude has increased your risk when there was no indication of reoffending or a return to any criminality,” said the Appeal Division.

But “it was within the board’s discretion to have placed more weight on other more negative information,” it said.

The Appeal Division disagreed with Kelsie’s “submission that it was unreasonable for the board to have drawn a link between the behaviours leading to” his most recent suspension and the risk he poses.

“As noted by the board, you have a violent criminal history and despite your index offence occurring more than two decades ago, you were recently convicted of uttering threats for an incident that occurred during a previous period of day parole. Therefore, while you submit that you have changed and conceded that there is still work to do on your personality traits, it was reasonable for the board to have found that you were incapable of modifying your behaviour.”

• Hells Angels hitman loses day parole after halfway house roommates too scared of him
• Catholic diocese near Montreal expresses regret about Hells Angels tombstone

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OTTAWA — A long-troubled fleet of coast guard patrol ships that the Canadian government paid hundreds of millions to build will be pulled from service “sooner than expected,” an internal document shows.

It comes as the civilian agency braces for more demands under its new surveillance mandate from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced back in June that it would be folded into the National Defence Department.

Newly released documents obtained by National Post detail the internal deliberations that took place inside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in the immediate days following the Prime Minister’s Office confirming it would be reassigning responsibility for the Canadian Coast Guard to the defence portfolio.

The change came as Carney announced his government would accelerate the country’s defence spending, in part by shifting the coast guard to a more security-focused role, which would allow it to be counted towards its NATO spending target.

Following that June announcement, an internal meeting was held between the fisheries department’s national enforcement officer, responsible for overseeing its conservation and protection efforts, and a senior coast guard official about the impacts that shift could have on the agency’s role in that task.

According to a set of meeting notes, the coast guard official flagged that capacity could be an issue, given its new role and an aging fleet.

“New (Canadian Coast Guard) security mandate is expected to create new pressures from (other government departments) to increase use of (Canadian Coast Guard) platforms for border and security purposes,” one excerpt read, released to National Post under federal access-to-information legislation.

“Emphasis was placed on assumption that RCMP and CBSA need for security and border work using (Canadian Coast Guard) platforms is likely going to increase in near future.”

The official also flagged how the remaining fleet of the coast guard’s mid-shore patrol vessels, specifically designed to perform surveillance, rescue and enforcement of Canada’s coasts, would be retired earlier than anticipated.

“Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels (MSPVs) won’t see life expectancy (140 footers–48 meters),” according to the notes. “These vessels will be removed from service sooner than expected (within a few years).”

Questions were also raised about their replacement plan.

A spokesman for National Defence confirmed in a statement that the coast guard’s eight mid-shore patrol vessels, delivered between 2012 and 2014, carry a life expectancy of 25 years. That means the oldest has currently been in service for roughly 13 years.

The coast guard, according to the statement, was gathering information from users, such as the conservation and protection program, as well as the RCMP, about requirements, which, once finalized, would inform a procurement process.

“The Canadian Coast Guard is undertaking a comprehensive fleet renewal program to modernize its fleet and ensure continued delivery of critical services to Canadians. This strategic initiative includes multiple vessel classes in various stages of design and construction, working closely with Canadian shipyards through the National Shipbuilding Strategy,” wrote Craig Macartney.

This $227-million fleet, also known as Hero-class ships, has been anything but heroic over its less than 15 years in the coast guard. Only two years after the Halifax-Irving Shipyard delivered its final ship,

a series of media reports

revealed the ships to be plagued with various design flaws.

At the time, Irving

pushed back that the issues were minor

. One year later, the ships’ galleys

needed to be redesigned

so that crews could cook safely on board. In 2019,

CBC News reported that officers on various vessels

complained about how the ships rolled “like crazy” at sea, making crew members seasick and unable to work.

Those problems now appear all the more concerning as the government

boosts the agency’s patrol mandate

.

Jody Thomas, former national security adviser to Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, and a past coast guard commissioner, said the vessels were never right to begin with, and that the coast guard will have to reassess its needs when picking a replacement.

“I think the problem with them was that they were too small and too light for our coast and they took a beating, and therefore have had to come out of service sooner than anybody would have expected,” said Thomas.

“They wanted a fast, small fleet, but maybe it was a bit too small.”

One of the nine ships is now a pile of metal,

having been scrapped earlier this year

after it was sabotaged in 2018 while docked for repairs at a Nova Scotia shipyard. Police have since closed the investigation without laying any charges.

Thomas said the eventual replacement ships would need to be outfitted differently than the Hero-class vessels to include information-collecting equipment such as radars and sensors.

A response from the RCMP has not yet been received. CBSA spokesman Luke Reimer said while the agency was continually looking at ways to strengthen its partnerships, including with the coast guard, “we do not have any specific changes to our working relationship with the Canadian Coast Guard to share at this time,” he said in a statement.

Internally, emails show the coast guard official’s words back in June were not well received by the fisheries’ top bureaucrat, who sent a sharp rebuke directly to the coast guard’s commissioner.

“This is very concerning,” Annette Gibbsons wrote to agency commissioner Mario Pelletier on June 16.

“I don’t know how Neil (the official) has the authority to make these statements. To be clear, the direction from the (prime minister) is that core (Canadian Coast Guard) functions remain unchanged. (Canadian Coast Guard) cannot unilaterally deprioritize core support to (Department of Fisheries and Oceans).”

About an hour later, the official responded, calling how his words had been summarized “disappointing,” adding that he “repeated several times” how its services would not change for current users, including around conservation and protection.

“This is what the official government direction to us says,” he wrote. “I then added that if we are asked to take on more security type requests from partners, we will need to look at how to expand our fleet to do this.”

National Post

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Palestinians in Gaza who applied to join relatives in Canada two years ago under Ottawa’s crisis immigration policy but haven’t received travel visas lost their lawsuits trying to force officials to act despite security problems in the war-torn region.

Four similar court actions asked the Federal Court to order officials with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to process their temporary resident visa applications.

Justice Henry S. Brown said the stories of applicants in Gaza were “heartbreaking” but he could not issue the orders they sought.

The court cases stem from Ottawa’s announcement of a “temporary public policy to facilitate temporary resident visas for certain extended family affected by the crisis in Gaza,” which took effect on Jan. 9, 2024.

It was supposed to provide quick refuge for Palestinians with relatives who are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents and willing to be an “anchor relative” in Canada.

The Gaza policy was capped at 5,000 visas. Court heard that almost two years later there are about 4,200 unprocessed applicants.

The policy was similar in purpose to emergency policies for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, Afghans fleeing the Taliban’s return to power, and those in danger zones after an earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. The policies remove some criteria normally needed to enter Canada to speed things up in a crisis.

In the policy for Gaza, the government exempted applicants from needing to prove their financial stability and that they would leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay.

Because of the similar nature of the court cases, portions of the decisions are replicated in each decision, all of which were decided by Brown. The last three decisions were released Wednesday.

The four cases represent 10 Gazan residents. The names of each of the visa applicants in the cases was anonymized by the court.

One case involves a family of five — a mother, father, and three children. Court heard they were living in one room in their partially destroyed home in Gaza City with rats and exposed to the rain due to damage to their roof.

Another family is a mother, father and their young son. Court heard they left their home in the Gaza Strip the day after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel from Gaza, and have been displaced several times while other family members have died in bombings.

A third case involves a Palestinian man living in the Gaza Strip. Court heard that after October 7 he was unable to continue his studies and lost his job and later his home. A court case heard in September was for a Palestinian woman living in Gaza City who said her house was flattened by a bomb, leaving her without shelter, food or water.

Court heard the special immigration policy was a three-stage process, starting with an anchor relative in Canada completing forms, then submitting documentary proof of identification, status in Canada, and other information; next documents for their Gazan kin seeking visas needed uploading.

Once Canadian immigration officials confirm an applicant is eligible, the policy process states, the applicant’s names are forwarded to the Israeli and Egyptian governments to allow access to the Rafah border crossing to provide Canada their biometric information at a collection facility, court heard. That includes fingerprinting and photographs. The border crossing was needed because there is no Canadian collection facility in Gaza.

That last stage became impossible, court heard.

In the case of the male applicant, used as an example in court, his anchor relative submitted a crisis webform on Jan. 14, 2024, and was approved for processing four days later.

Four months after the application, an entry was made in the immigration case management system noting that he had met all requirements except his security screening and biometrics, meaning his eligibility had been approved but his admissibility was pending.

IRCC officials requested more information in December 2024, including about social media accounts, which was provided the next day, court heard. Everything was in place but biometrics that are done across the border.

“While this was possible in December 2023 when the Policy was issued, the Rafah crossing was closed on May 7, 2024, and remains closed to this day,” Brown wrote in his reasons for judgment. “Therefore, the Applicant — through no fault of his own or of IRCC — has not obtained or sent his biometrics.”

Brown said lawyers for both the applicants and for the government are right, in a way.

He agreed with the applicants that the government has a legal duty to process visa applications made under the policy. He also agreed with the government that officers did not have a duty to process applications within a particular timeframe.

“I am satisfied the Applicant has a legitimate expectation to his application being dealt with in a timely manner. However, this expectation only arises when the Applicant meets all the conditions of the Policy and provides biometric information (which he is unable to do),” Brown wrote.

Brown found that Canada’s policy did not allow visa officers to override other regulations on immigration, and those regulations require a biometric check. The government argued that Ottawa has a duty to maintain the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and Brown agreed.

“The root cause of the Applicant’s failure to provide his biometric data is of course the changed operational context, namely the closure of the Rafah crossing which made obtaining and submitting biometrics impossible.”

He said because of that, the applicants did not meet the threshold for a court order forcing the government to act because that required all elements of a process to be complete before unreasonable delay can be determined.

All cases were denied.

The outcome disappoints Hana Marku, a lawyer who represents some of the visa applicants.

“Canada’s behaviour throughout its rollout of its own policy has been utterly cruel,” Marku said afterwards. “Canada has no serious intention of providing safe refuge to Palestinians. This is why we sought justice from the court…. The Federal Court has given the government a pass to do nothing while Palestinian visa applicants in the Gaza Strip face death and starvation.”

Jeffrey MacDonald, a spokesman for IRCC, declined to comment on the specific cases citing privacy considerations, but said the delay in processing the visas is beyond the Canada’s control.

“Canada is deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza,” MacDonald said. “Everyone must meet Canada’s legal requirements before travelling, including security and biometric checks, where required. Biometrics can only be done outside Gaza, as Canada has no presence there. While we continue to advocate for the safety of those in Gaza, Canada does not ultimately determine who can leave Gaza.”

• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys

• Truce resumes in Gaza after Hamas attack and Israeli reprisals, IDF says
• Hamas to return body of hostage as families of missing call for break in Gaza truce

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More than two years after separating from Justin Trudeau, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau seems to coping with her ex’s public romance with singer Katy Perry. Moreover, she credits him with stepping up to joint parent their three children.

“I’m definitely not a single mom. I have a partnership with a father who has such deep love and availability to his children,” she said when she sat down recently with Canadian businesswoman Arlene Dickinson for a YouTube episode of “

Arlene Is Alone: The Single Life

.”

The discussion with Grégoire Trudeau was wide-ranging, exploring mental health, motherhood, living in the public eye, and women finding authenticity amid constant scrutiny.

Acknowledging that being in the public eye can present many “triggers,” Grégoire Trudeau said she has learned to “listen to the music, not the noise.”

Dickinson injected her own sense of frustration with the publicity surrounding Justin and Perry (without mentioning the entertainer’s name but referring to the widely publicized photos of the couple in a Montreal restaurant and then on Perry’s yacht). “I don’t know how you stay cool … I really admire it because I would probably not be that way.”

Grégoire Trudeau responded by acknowledging “stuff affects us” and she is aware that a lot of “public stuff out there can be triggers.” However, she says she chooses not to stay triggered: “How you react to stuff is your decision. The woman I want to become through this is my decision.”

She said it’s possible to stay in a reactive state, but “you’ll suffer the consequences. Your stress levels are going to be up the roof. You’re going to become more and more judgmental because that’s a loop as well.”

Making their first public appearance in Paris, Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Grégoire Trudeau married Justin Trudeau, the twenty-third prime minister of Canada, in 2005. The couple separated in 2023. There are no public plans to divorce. They have three children: Xavier James, Ella-Grace Margaret, and Hadrien Gregoire.

Dickinson asked her what’s it’s like to be a single mom. However, Grégoire Trudeau insisted she is not one, crediting her husband for his

ongoing dedication to the family

.

Regarding the very public life of a senior politician’s family, she spoke about “the scrutiny, the speed at which things are happening. You’re constantly reacting, knowing that when you go out there, the partner and the man you love, and your kids, they are under physical and psychological stress and safety issues. That’s hard to face as a family.”

“So, she said, “I can’t say I’m a single mom because we have raised these kids together.”

Dickson asked about times when Justin might be on the road and Grégoire Trudeau is facing a parental challenge. In response, Grégoire Trudeau said: “We call each other up. We’ll text each other … We will really try to build cohesion, so that the kids feel that cohesion … We have separate lives, but we have one family life, right?”

Despite the marriage breakup, Grégoire Trudeau insisted that it has been “a common, conscious decision that our family is our greatest creation and we’re going to feed it together no matter if we are on different life paths.”

Notably, the two women did not discuss that Grégoire Trudeau has been in

a new relationship with Ottawa pediatric surgeon, Dr. Marcos Bettolli

, possibly since before breakup became public in 2023.

Still, she expressed public anguish about the failure of the marriage. For example, in May 2024,

People Magazine

reported her saying: “It hurts deeply. You know, marriage is ‘success.’ Separation and divorce is ‘failure.’”

However, Grégoire Trudeau did not express any grief on this occasion. Instead, she went on to say that at age 50 she has learned people will “meet life where they are inside” and then a person must decide how they will let that affect their happiness.

At the end of any day, she said, you must ask “what did I do to take care of myself.”

• Sophie Grégoire Trudeau ‘re-partnered’ with Ottawa doctor, ex-wife claims in divorce petition
• Montreal meet-ups, California cuddles and their Paris premiere: Timeline of Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry’s new romance

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A Jewish group is urging the City of Toronto to cancel the raising of the Palestinian flag at city hall, as more than 20,000 people sign a petition saying it could “inadvertently cause division and tension.”

B’nai Brith Canada told National Post over email that the event “violates the city’s prohibition against flag raisings that promote hatred, violence, or racism.” The flag-raising is

planned for Nov. 17

, in recognition of Palestinian Independence Day, which takes place two days prior.

B’nai Brith Canada wrote to the city, warning that “commemorating Palestinian independence in this way — as it was self-declared by then-Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yasser Arafat on Nov. 15, 1988 — would sanitize the PLO’s antisemitic ideology and acts of terror.”

Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy, said that the PLO’s ideology “precluded the notion of Jewish self-determination, promoted antisemitism, glorified hate-motivated violence, and perpetuated hostilities in the region.”

“Commemorating this moment, in the context of rising antisemitism in Canada, is not only insensitive but also reckless and irresponsible,” he said.

The

Change.org petition

that was created last week by Ron Jones called for other ways to support “Palestinian awareness and solidarity that do not involve flying a flag at a city-level government institution.”

“Events in the Middle East, especially those involving Israel and Palestine, are complex and deeply rooted in history, with implications that transcend borders,” says the petition. “The decision to fly a flag should respect the feelings and views of all community members, ensuring that city hall remains a place of unity rather than discord.”

In a statement to National Post, City of Toronto’s d

irector of media relations and issues management

Russell Baker said the flag-raising policy is “council-approved.” It allows non-profit or charitable organizations to request flag raisings, “including flags of nations recognized by Global Affairs Canada, Government of Canada, on existing courtesy flagpoles.”

In September, Canada

recognized Palestinian statehood

, in a move that

upset many Jewish advocacy groups

in the country.

The city approved the Nov. 17 request from advocacy group, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), said Baker. The flag will be lowered at the end of the day. In 2025, there have already been dozens of flag raisings at Toronto City Hall. The Israeli flag was raised on May 1 to mark Israel’s independence day.

Flying a specific flag does not imply or express “support for the politics or policies of nations and/or organizations, but raises the flag in recognition of those citizens or members that have made the request,” Baker said.

Shane Martinez, a lawyer at ICJP Canada, 

told Now Magazine

that the flag-raising in Toronto “symbolizes Palestinian resilience and is a powerful expression of solidarity with Palestinians everywhere.”

However, Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak said in

a post on X

that those who made the request are activists, not “diplomatic representatives.” He said they were looking to “stage a political stunt under the guise of marking the anniversary of the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence — on its own, a deeply partisan observance tied to a violent and unresolved conflict overseas.”

“Over the past two years, Torontonians have grown sick and tired of mobs holding rallies in neighbourhoods, blocking streets, damaging infrastructure, and endlessly draining police resources. We cannot reward these groups by giving them a platform for further political agitation,” said Pasternak.

He said what is planned for Nov. 17 in Toronto is not comparable to the reason the flag-raising program was created, which was to “honour official partners of Canada.”

Pasternak pointed out that Canada’s recognition of Palestinian statehood was “dependent on reforms, demilitarization, and elections that exclude Hamas, a listed terrorist entity in Canada.”

“To date, none of those conditions have been met,” he said. “Political activism is a sacred Charter right, but it does not grant blanket immunity to disrupt the lives of law-abiding citizens, trample laws, endanger public safety, or hijack civic spaces.”

Other Palestinian flag-raising ceremonies are planned in Canada.

One is

scheduled in Calgary on Nov. 15

, according to the city. It is set to take place at the Municipal Plaza. Another is scheduled the same day in Winnipeg at Memorial Park, across from the Manitoba Legislative Building, according to the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba. It was

announced by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew

in late October that a Palestinian flag-raising would take place.

An

open letter

written by the Israeli Canadian Council (Manitoba) urged Kinew to rethink the move, saying there were better options to show unity and bring the community together. “If the Israeli flag must be raised in secrecy while the Palestinian flag is raised in celebration, the message is unmistakable: intimidation works,” the group said.

• After a week of political intrigue, Poilievre tries to turn the focus back to Carney’s record
• Jewish TMU student says Toronto event disrupted by anti-Israel protesters was a nightmare

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OTTAWA — The kids aren’t all right, warns Canada’s spy chief, as nearly one in 10 of CSIS’s terrorism investigations now involves at least one minor who was radicalized online.
 

In his first annual speech, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Daniel Rogers said he’s increasingly concerned by growing violent extremism in Canada, particularly among those under 18 years old.
 

The extremism is motivated by different ideologies such antisemitism, xenophobia, misogyny, “extreme interpretations” of religion or accelerationism (the desire to accelerate the collapse of society) that spread faster and easier than ever due to online content, Rogers said.
 

That means children and teenagers are much more susceptible to falling into the trap of violent extremists online, he warned.
 

“Worryingly, nearly one in 10 terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18,” Rogers told an audience of government and police officials, academics and reporters on Thursday.
 

Just this year, two minors were arrested on suspicions they were planning to commit serious violent acts.
 

The first was a minor in Montreal allegedly planning an attack on behalf of Daesh, the second was a 15-year-old Edmonton youth police suspected would commit attacks on behalf on an online transnational violent community, Rogers noted.
 

“Fortunately, only a small number of youth or adults with extreme views resort to violence. But when they do, the consequences are devastating,” he said.
 

In the last 11 years, there have been 20 violent extremist attacks in Canada that killed 29 people and injured 60, Rogers noted.
 

He said CSIS has helped disrupt 24 “violent extremist actions” that led to arrests of terrorism peace bond charges in just over three years.
 

A number of those involved individuals suspected of planning attacks either on behalf of Daesh or against the Jewish community, or both.
 

Since 2023, Rogers said CSIS assisted in the arrest of two 15-year-olds in Ottawa before they allegedly committed a mass casualty attack against the Jewish community. The agency also contributed information leading to the arrest of a man planning a Daesh-inspired attack on the Jewish community in New York.
 

The spy chief also said the agency is focusing more resources on “particularly alarming” cases involving plots by Iranian intelligence to repress — and sometimes murder — critics and dissidents of the regime in Canada.
 

“In more than one case, this involved detecting, investigating and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada,” Rogers said of transnational repression efforts by Iran.
 

China and India are also known perpetrators of transnational repression against Canadians perceived to be a threat to their interests, he added.
 

China’s efforts to spy on Canada to steal anything from state and military secrets to intellectual property have not relented, Rogers warned.
 

He revealed that agents of China are increasingly targeting the private sector and former government workers, namely via fake hiring schemes.
 

“Chinese spies have tried to recruit Canadians with access to government plans, intentions, information and military expertise, through social media and online job platforms,” he warned.
 

Russia and China are also aggressively pushing for more intelligence and influence in Canada’s Arctic.
 

“Both of those countries, and others, have a significant intelligence interest in our Arctic and those who influence or develop its economic or strategic potential. It’s no surprise, then, that CSIS has observed both cyber and non-cyber intelligence collection efforts targeting both governments and the private sector in the region,” he said.

Rogers ended his speech by putting Canadians on notice: the agency will need to collect and use more data than before to keep the country safe.

“CSIS will be challenged to adopt technology and use data in new and more significant ways to keep Canadians safe and to secure an advantage for Canada,” he said.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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