Canadians not keen on trading privacy for intelligence sharing: polling data

Just one in three respondents to government poll in favour of government agencies sharing more information if it affects privacy rights.

Canadians aren’t keen on giving federal agencies more powers to share information in the name of national security if it comes at the expense of privacy rights, documents obtained by Global News suggest.

The Privy Council Office (PCO), the central department of government, recently polled Canadians about the balance between privacy rights and the ability of government agencies to share intelligence with partners to address national security threats.

The PCO asked respondents if they would accept “greater information sharing powers” to address national security threats, “even if it affects (their) privacy rights.”

The polling data, obtained by Global News under access to information laws, found one out of two respondents would not, roughly one in ten Canadians were ambivalent, and just one in three thought it was a good idea.

Both CSIS and their sister agency, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), have repeatedly warned about the threat of foreign interference and influence operations during the pandemic, targeting health research, critical industries, as well as people increasingly working from home on less-secure networks.

While suspicion regarding more information sharing is clear, what new power national security agencies may be seeking is murkier.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino in October 2021 that their work was hampered by not being able to share intelligence with “non-federal government stakeholders.”

“CSIS cannot provide classified information to targets of threat activities, such as private sector entities, academia, civil society groups, and provincial and municipal authorities,” CSIS Director David Vigneault wrote in a letter to Mendicino reviewed by Global News.