Invoking Emergencies Act Would Increase ‘Extreme Anti-Government Views,’ CSIS Told Liberal Ministers

CSIS director David Vigneault holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 16, 2020. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told the Liberal government a day before it invoked the Emergencies Act (EA) on Feb. 14 that doing so would probably end the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, but at the same time it could lead to the radicalization of an increased number of individuals.

“On February 13th, CSIS advised that the implementation of the EA would likely galvanize the anti-government narratives within the convoy and further the radicalization towards violence, referencing the increase in violent rhetoric following the declaration of a state of emergency by the Province of Ontario,” says a CSIS document entered as evidence at the Public Order Emergency Commission on Nov. 7.

“Furthermore, CSIS advised that the invocation of the EA by the federal government would likely leads [sic] to the dispersing of the convoy within Ottawa but would likely increase the number of Canadians who hold extreme anti-government views and push some towards the belief that violence is the only solution to what they perceive as a broken system and government.”

The CSIS document, titled “Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism – CSIS Engagement 2017-2022,” is classified “SECRET//CC” [Cabinet Confidence] but was released mostly unredacted.

The document says CSIS provided advice to cabinet in relation to the Freedom Convoy protest in three separate meetings before the declaration of a public order emergency.

Before providing the advice of Feb. 13, the document says that on Feb. 3 “CSIS assessed there were no indicators that known IMVE [Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism] actors were planning to engage in violence.”

After the invocation of the act, CSIS briefed cabinet and reiterated the potential for increased radicalization, according to the document.

CSIS says its assessment of the impact of invoking the act was provided for cabinet discussions and that there’s a possibility it was not ultimately mentioned during the confidential discussions.

No National Security Threat

The commission is currently in the public hearings phase of examining the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act.

CSIS Director David Vigneault and his deputy Michelle Tessier are set to testify before the commission in the coming weeks.

The CSIS Act defines threats to the national security of Canada, and its two top officials will surely be asked whether they believe the events of last winter, when protests and border blockades occurred across the country to demand the lifting of COVID restrictions, fell under any of the definitions.

The chief of intelligence for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), who testified at the inquiry on Oct. 19, said CSIS did not perceive the events as a threat to national security.

“I spoke about that with colleagues from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and with the [RCMP] Integrated National Security Enforcement Team [INSET], and they did not see things that reached their threshold in terms of what would be deemed a threat to the security of Canada,” said Superintendent Pat Morris, head of the OPP’s Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau (POIB).

Information about the protests from Vigneault was entered as evidence at the inquiry on Oct. 18.

During a teleconference with senior government officials from different levels on Feb. 6, Vigneault said the convoy protest was “primarily a domestic issue,” according to a transcript of the call.

“There are some individuals from other causes who are the hardened elements who will likely use violence, but they see this as not their mission,” Vigneault said, adding that these individuals were in different locations.

“However, they are not actively participating or organizing it and are likely using this as a recruiting ground.”