Canada, CSIS and the Future
November 16th, 2009 § 1 Comment
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a more than obvious attempt at projecting a "softer" side to Canadians.
When I was in high school my female guidance counsellor (also my Physical Education teacher) asked my class to write out a paragraph describing what we wanted to do in the future career wise. My answer, which was rushed and obviously forced, prompted her to ask me to stay for a moment after the class was over.
“Where are you from, Jasmin?”
I wanted to tell her that I was Canadian, just like her, but knew that she was fishing for something else.
“I was born in Iran.”
“And you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up?”
I half smiled and said I was still working on it.
That’s when she asked me if I spoke Farsi and after realizing that I did, suggested that I consider pursuing a career with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (the Canadian version of the MI6 or CIA), because “they need more people like you.”
That experience has always stuck with me, much like another instance in elementary school when another female teacher (and former member of the Canadian Navy) told my entire class that dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary because it was the only way to end World War II. The real irony of this event exists in the fact that she had just finished reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes to us (a story about a Japanese girl dying of Leukemia as a result of exposure to the remaining radiation from the bomb in Hiroshima), and had been so overwhelmed with emotion that she had left the room in tears. She made that sweeping claim almost immediately after returning to us 5 minutes later, tears wiped, hair in a perfect bun and composure restored: “There was nothing else we could do.”
I was recently reminded of these experiences again when I stumbled upon a report published on CSIS’s website entitled: “Attitudes of Canadian Youth: CSIS Recruitment Evaluation Outline of Key Phases.” Its stated aim being to:
…understand and document the attitudes of young Canadians towards CSIS recruitment using qualitative research among the target audience and recent CSIS hires. Findings will be used to develop strategic and specific recommendations for improving CSIS’s recruitment efforts.
The report’s findings and resulting recommendations are made in an attempt to advise CSIS on how to strengthen and bolster its recruiting methods. Accordingly, the “careers” page on CSIS’s official website includes a picture of a strong looking woman of color (a role model for someone like me during my days in High School?), Caucasian man, and a quiz that will help prospects determine whether they have the basic requirements. Perhaps most interesting however is the salary description offered on the “Intelligence Officer” page which is marketed as “a career like no other”:
The starting salary is $50,000, progressing to $72,460 during the probationary period, based on successful completion of training, attainment of the required experience, and performance.
In times of economic hardship, that’s quite an attractive draw for Canadian youth who are facing increasing difficulties finding employment.
Of course, it’s not as though Canadians were disinclined to consider working for a spy agency in the first place. As noted in the report:
Almost no participants are disinclined to consider CSIS due to impressions left by news coverage, or specific security incidents. Many are, in fact, curious as to which opportunities CSIS offers, and are open to receiving more information.
This statement will be positive news for Richard B. Fadden, the former Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada and current director of CSIS. Indeed, recent remarks he made at a security and intelligence conference in October 2009 suggest more than just a little bitterness on Fadden’s part in regards to his understanding of how Canadians undervalue CSIS’s contribution to their security:
So why then, I ask, are those accused of terrorist offences often portrayed in media as quasi-folk heroes, despite the harsh statements of numerous judges? Why are they always photographed with their children, given tender-hearted profiles, and more or less taken at their word when they accuse CSIS or other government agencies of abusing them? It sometimes seems that to be accused of having terrorist connections in Canada has become a status symbol, a badge of courage in the struggle against the real enemy, which would appear to be, at least sometimes, the government. To some members of civil society, there is a certain romance to this. This loose partnership of single-issue NGOs, advocacy journalists and lawyers has succeeded, to a certain extent; in forging a positive public image for anyone accused of terrorist links or charges.
The “quasi-folk heroes” he refers to might include the innocent Canadian citizen Maher Arar, or the possibly innocent Omar Khadr (also Canadian and shown in the video in my earlier piece). Arar claims he endured torture and solitary confinement at the hands of Syrian officials for almost 1 year after he was deported there on his way home from a family vacation which had a stopover in the US. Khadr, Canada’s “child soldier” (he was captured at the age of 15), has also stated that he has been tortured on multiple occasions and has been through the gates of Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan and spent 7 years in Guantánamo Bay prison without being formally sentenced. Just recently reports emerged stating that Khadr might be transferred to the US to face trial. Despite clear statements made by a Canadian supreme court judge that Khadr should be returned to Canada, Conservative party leader and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has resisted and spent more than million Canadian tax dollars fighting to keep Khadr locked away on foreign soil.
Unfortunately, despite Fadden’s statements, many average Canadians aren’t fully aware of Khadr’s case, or how their tax dollars are being spent to keep this possibly innocent and tortured young man (he has matured from a boy into a man within these prison walls) in the US’s most notorious detention centre. With so much Canadian media attention focused on American politics (Canadian television is compromised of mostly American channels and shows), many Canadians are unaware of the dark path their own government is leading them on. Countries might always have intelligence agencies like CSIS, sure, it would be unrealistic to argue that they should be abolished, but if my guidance counsellor was encouraging me to join one at such an early age (as opposed to suggesting that I consider becoming a doctor, mechanic or chef), and tax dollars are being spent to conduct research into how agencies like CSIS can strategically recruit more, younger employees, just imagine what Canadian youth are being exposed to today.
The US’s “war on terror” during the “dark era” of the George W. Bush years has succeeded in making it easier for people to pinpoint similar policies and moves by the Obama Administration. Meanwhile, similar moves by Canada’s own government have gone mostly unchecked, despite some very controversial actions, including Jason Kenney’s (Canada’s current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism) decision in March 2009 to ban British MP George Galloway from even entering Canada during a North American speaking tour, and Prime Minister Harper’s outrageous claim in September that Canada has “no history of colonialism.” Moreover, in October of this year Yves Engler made some interesting observations about Canada’s more than friendly relationship with Israel in an article entitled: “Is Canada More Pro-Israel Than the US?”, pointing out among other things that while most of the world was hard-pressed to support Israel’s December 2009 offensive on Gaza, Canada was defending it.
Many Americans are ashamed of what happened to their country during the Bush years and they may suffer the consequences for years to come. What will it take for Canadians to work against ending up in the same position?
The 2008 Canadian federal election resulted in a record low voter turnout, against the backdrop of strong Canadian participation in the lead-up to the American election, 2 weeks later.
Canadians are, to a certain extent, blind to the actions of their own government because of our intense focus on American politics, but we’re also more than a little in denial. We’re in a limbo of apathy, denial and ignorance that is going to be extremely difficult to overcome. The Canadian identity has developed as in contrast to American without any substantially expressed differences. Having come to adopt the point of view that Canada is a friendly but powerless country, we seem to accept the premise that if the government is not strong enough to do a great deal of good, they can’t do that much bad either. Where this premise comes from is beyond me considering Canada’s history with natives, Asian immigrants during the war, support of American policy, etc….
So to the author’s last question: if the financial crisis, Afghanistan, immigration questions or Stephen Harper’s sweater vest haven’t motivated Canadian political involvement, the devil knows what will.