QUESTIONING THE ACTIONS OF SECRET SQUIRRELS

This month the Federal Court released a scathing judgment calling for a comprehensive review of the “systemic, governance and cultural shortcomings and failures that resulted in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service [CSIS] engaging in operational activity that it has conceded was illegal.” This decision highlights, once again, the problem of secret law: the development of and reliance upon confidential legal opinions known only to Justice Department lawyers and the agencies they advise.