Companies want Canada’s spy agency to share threat intelligence with them

A group representing key Canadian businesses wants legislative changes that would allow Canada’s spy agency to share threat intelligence with companies to help them take timely protective measures.

The Business Council of Canada is also urging the federal government to borrow a U.S. idea and create a new body that would ensure the intelligence is securely and broadly shared across the Canadian economy.

Business council president and CEO Goldy Hyder argues for the new approach in a submission to a federal consultation on possible changes to the legislation governing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The government says the CSIS Act does not provide the spy service with sufficient authority to disclose classified intelligence to provinces, territories, Indigenous governments or municipalities.

It says the prohibitions on disclosure also limit how CSIS can share relevant information with private sector and academic institutions.

Proposed revisions would allow CSIS to share information on threats to the security of Canada beyond the federal sphere, with the aim of increasing awareness and resiliency.

The idea may be gaining support in government and business circles, but it is also stirring concern among civil libertarians who fear inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information about people under CSIS scrutiny.

The government says any broader authority for CSIS to disclose information would be accompanied by measures to safeguard privacy protections.

In his letter to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Hyder says council members increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs of malicious actors seeking to undermine Canadian livelihoods through sabotage of critical infrastructure, disruption of vital supply chains or