Top PM Advisers Say They Had No Part in Delayed Surveillance Warrant on Ontario Politician

(L-R) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's senior global affairs adviser Patrick Travers, chief of staff Katie Telford, and deputy chief of staff Brian Clow appear as witnesses at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on Oct. 15, 2024. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Top advisers in the Prime Minister’s Office were questioned about their knowledge of a delayed surveillance warrant on an Ontario politician and denied any involvement in the matter as they testified at the Foreign Interference Commission.

“None of us in the Prime Minister’s Office are involved in anything to do with warrant processes or to do with warrants,” the prime minister’s chief of staff Katie Telford said on Oct. 15.

Telford was testifying before the inquiry alongside her deputy Brian Clow and the senior global affairs adviser in the prime minister’s office (PMO), Patrick Travers.

The commission was told it took nearly two months for then-Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to approve a particular warrant submitted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in the spring of 2021. Blair’s then-chief of staff Zita Astravas had not provided the warrant for him to sign for a period of 50 days.

When testifying at the public inquiry last week, neither Blair nor Astravas could fully explain the nature of the delay.

The subject of the warrant has not been disclosed in the latest round of public hearings at the inquiry on national security grounds, but past intelligence leaks and related comments by Blair to the inquiry in April identify the subject as current Markham deputy mayor and former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chan.

Previous media coverage suggested Chan was a subject of CSIS interest because of his links to Chinese officials. He has not returned requests for comment.

Chan previously told The Globe and Mail that CSIS has “never discussed their concerns with me but continues to unjustifiably harass, intimidate, threaten, and frighten my friends and acquaintances.”

Warrant Approval

The commission heard that warrant applications from CSIS are typically approved by the public safety minister within four to 10 days, and that Blair had approved two separate warrants during the same time period.

Warrant applications generally seek authorization for the use of intrusive powers, including the interception of communications, and are sent to a federal court judge for review following the minister’s approval.

In her testimony to the commission ahead of the Oct. 15 hearing, Telford said she didn’t know CSIS was pursuing a particular warrant.

Blair and Astravas testified they had not advised the PMO about the subject of the warrant.

Conservative Party lawyer Nando de Luca asked the PMO officials if anyone in their office had sought to understand why it took Blair 54 days to approve the warrant.

“I don’t get involved in warrant processes,” repeated Telford. “And I look forward to what the inquiry has to say about whatever happened going into the future.”

“With all due respect, I’m asking if the PMO’s office took any steps to do its own investigations as to why it took 54 days,” pressed de Luca.

“The individuals involved have spoken to this at length,” replied Clow. “This commission is looking at that very question. We look forward to the commission’s work and the conclusions.”

Their answers led de Luca to ask Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue for the witnesses to answer by “yes” or “no.”

“I think you can answer the question,” said Hogue.

“We don’t have conservations about warrants, period,” Telford said.

De Luca pressed further and Clow said he had conversations with Astravas when the issue became public in the last few weeks. “I’ve spoken to Zita directly, and she told me exactly what she told the commission.”

“Have the details of your own inquiries at the PMO’s office been shared with the commission?” asked de Luca.

“You would be overstating to say it’s an inquiry,” replied Clow.

Both Clow and Astravas worked for former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne when Michael Chan was a cabinet minister.

‘In Danger’

Astravas told the inquiry on Oct. 9 she had not intentionally delayed presenting the warrant to Blair for signature.

She also said the warrant was never in any danger of not receiving approval from the minister, when replying to an internal CSIS email that raised concerns about that possibility. An unidentified CSIS official had expressed this concern one day after CSIS had briefed Astravas on the warrant.

Astravas testified that prioritization of items to bring to Blair was discussed with CSIS and that “as soon as the [CSIS] director had indicated that he would like to put this warrant on the agenda, it was arranged within days.”

CSIS officials testifying at the inquiry on Sept. 27 said the unusual delay had made operational staff “very frustrated.”

Blair, currently defence minister, told the inquiry on Oct. 11 he was “not entirely” sure why Astravas had not provided him the warrant to sign sooner and that he had not discussed the matter with her.

“If there had been any concern with the length of the interval, my expectation would have been that either ... the director of CSIS, or the deputy minister, or my chief [of staff] would have brought that to my attention,“ he said. ”And none of them did.”