With Bill C-2’s fate uncertain, spy agency argues its ability to do its job ‘eroding’

With the fate of the Liberal government’s security bill in doubt, the historically secretive Canadian Security Intelligence Service is laying its cards on the table and arguing its investigations will suffer if changes aren't made.

Senior CSIS officials, speaking on the condition they not be named because of the nature of their job, said the agency is struggling to get court-approved information from electronic service providers, making it harder to investigate national security cases.

“If Canadians understood they would be increasingly worried,” said one source.

The comments from the service were raised in a recent briefing with CBC News about Bill C-2, the Liberal government’s controversial bill that has been roundly — and loudly — criticized by civil liberty and privacy groups .

CB