Delay in ministerial approval of spy warrant didn't seem exceptional: former official
A former deputy minister of public safety says nothing struck him as "particularly exceptional" in early 2021 about a weeks-long delay in ministerial approval of a spy service warrant.
Rob Stewart told a public inquiry Tuesday that in retrospect, general tracking of Canadian Security Intelligence Service warrant applications could have been better.
But Stewart, the department's deputy minister from late 2019 to October 2022, said things often took time to get done, notably during the disruptive period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I would have treated it as, by and large, a function of the circumstances, which were challenging."
The inquiry into foreign interference has heard that it took as long as 54 days for the CSIS warrant application to be approved by Bill Blair, public safety minister at the time.
The average turnaround time for such applications is four to 10 days.
Michelle Tessier, CSIS deputy director of operations at the time, has told the inquiry there was frustration with the delay, though no concern about interference of any sort or pushback from the minister's office.
Blair has said that he signed off on the warrant soon after it was brought to his attention.
Commission counsel asked Stewart on Tuesday about the time delay in getting the warrant signed, wondering whether he had brought it to the attention of Blair's chief of staff.
Stewart said it would have been "on the upper part of a list of action items that we were seeking from the minister," given the importance of warrants.
"I don't have a specific memory of flagging this warrant. I would have just flagged every warrant."
Stewart says he did not raise the matter with Blair himself, in part because they would typically speak during the pandemic on a non-secure telephone line.
Gib van Ert, a lawyer for Conservative MP Michael Chong, pressed Stewart during cross-examination Tuesday about the warrant delay.
Stewart said he could not explain the time taken, nor was he able to discuss the substance of the warrant.
Zita Astravas, Blair's chief of staff in 2021, is set to appear Wednesday at the inquiry.
Blair, now defence minister, is slated to testify on Friday.
Shawn Tupper, who became deputy minister of public safety in late 2022, said that as a result of a new process, "we track this stuff a little bit more aggressively now than perhaps we used to."
"So we certainly have a tracking system that ensures a document is processed. If it's sitting, we will know that, and we will be able to find out why it is sitting," Tupper said.
CSIS might still have its own discussion with the minister, he added.
"But certainly, I think, between CSIS and ourselves, we have a co-ordinated process now that ensures that we have a higher degree of awareness of the status of a given warrant."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Clothes donation bin company passes itself off as a charity, while donated items are put up for sale
In part two of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5 uses trackers tp reveal a for-profit operation masquerading as a charity.
Do the new COVID-19 vaccines include protection from the XEC variant?
The XEC strain, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the number of COVID-19 cases with the XEC variant has rapidly increased.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.
'We all got through it': Canadian family stuck in Cuba recalls ordeal amid massive blackout
Ellen Francis says she and her family were having a great time at one of Cuba's famously stunning beaches and exploring the popular tourist town of Varadero when the situation turned into something like a scary movie.
Cooldown expected across Canada before above-seasonal temperatures return
Canada is getting served a smorgasbord of weather this week. The West saw its first sign of winter, while the eastern half of Canada experienced summer-like temperatures on Tuesday.
Pakistan police arrest 3 men who stabbed and killed 2 transgender women at their home
Pakistan's police arrested three men on suspicion of killing two transgender women with daggers at their home in the country's conservative northwest, police said on Wednesday.
opinion Will the King address slavery reparations at Commonwealth meeting in Samoa?
As King Charles III prepares to address Commonwealth countries, Royal commentator Afua Hagan explores whether he will broach the issue of slavery that has long been a source of tension between former colonial powers and their former colonies.
Local Spotlight
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.
A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.
A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the 鈥楩ellow in Yellow.鈥