Senior civil servant invites provincial counterparts to seek top secret clearance

OTTAWA — Canada’s senior public servant has invited his provincial and territorial counterparts to apply for top secret-level security clearance as a way of fostering “healthy, transparent dialogue” on foreign interference and other threats.

In a July 11 letter to the heads of public services across the country, John Hannaford, clerk of the Privy Council, said that obtaining the clearance would allow the Privy Council Office and other federal security agencies to offer regular, intelligence-informed briefings.

The briefings would support the public service leaders’ efforts to advise provincial and territorial governments on policy development as well as their responses to “acute security events,” Hannaford wrote.

Daniel Savoie, a PCO spokesman, said that as a result of the offer, “some security clearances have been granted and other screenings are in progress.”

Similar offers have been made to premiers on an ad hoc basis to address the needs of specific security briefings, Savoie added. “Premiers are welcome to request security clearances.”

The Privy Council Office provided the letter to The Canadian Press upon request.

In the letter, Hannaford said it has been clear over the last year that Canada remains a target for foreign interference, terrorism and cyberthreat activity.

“Addressing the growing threats posed by a rapidly evolving global security environment will require a whole of society response, hence it is now even more important that our governments begin to build a healthy, transparent dialogue informed by intelligence,” he wrote.

Meetings such as the annual gathering of clerks and cabinet secretaries could become forums for “candid, classified conversations and two-way information sharing” on topics including foreign interference and espionage, violent extremism, economic security and research security, the letter said.

“I invite you to undergo the necessary security clearance process to enable these critical conversations.”

Hannaford also offered his counterparts the option of designating another senior level official within their governments to pursue a clearance to ensure timely intelligence sharing.

The effort to broaden the flow of intelligence follows a spate of ransomware attacks on public institutions across the country as well as heightened awareness about the long-standing threat of foreign interference.

A bill that received swift passage through Parliament earlier this year allows the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to disclose sensitive information beyond the halls of government to build resiliency against foreign meddling.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Leader Elizabeth May have received top secret security clearance, allowing them to review the classified version of a recent spy watchdog report on foreign interference that flagged concerns about the activities of some parliamentarians.

New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan, who has been identified as a target of Chinese influence activities, told a federal inquiry Wednesday that she had hoped to get top secret-level clearance so she could read the classified spy watchdog report.

However, Kwan indicated the government declined to have her go through the process and said even if she had top secret clearance, she would not be allowed to see the report because she did not have a need to know the information.

Asked at the inquiry why she needed to see the report, Kwan said: “Well, because I’m a target, and because I’m a parliamentarian.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press