Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. He previous worked as a senior strategic analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
We discuss CSIS's role in Canadian immigration screening, the increase in comprehensive background checks, how CSIS and CBSA divide up security work, the Bishnoi gang, Bill C-12, delays in applications from China, mandamus and whether Canada lacks a national security culture.
05:26 – How CSIS does immigration security screening and the dramatic increase in comprehensive background checks
10:08 – Why every citizenship application goes to CSIS for security screening
15:03 – Canada’s choices: lax screening, less immigration, more surveillance… or something else?
21:16 – Delays, disenfranchisement & back-end vs front-end screening
31:26 – CSIS vs CBSA vs IRCC: who does what in screening?
37:00 – Security vs human rights
42:01 – International students, volume and how the system can be exploited
49:04 – Timelines, CSIS capacity, and mandamus in Federal Court
Audience Questions
54:40 – Do friends and family with extreme beliefs trigger concern?
56:47 – How common is espionage in Canada?
1:02:59 – What can be done to improve transparency?
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