Commentary
Governments are very privileged bodies. They are the only ones who can collect and spend taxpayer dollars. They are the only ones who can declare war. They change our lives in innumerable ways—some welcome and some not so. In short, they have a lot of power.
Part of that power is the ability to call for and use intelligence provided by the country’s spy agencies. In Canada, that means the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Communications Security Establishment (CSE).
I worked at both agencies over my 32-year civil service career. Governments leverage requirements on these bodies, see the polished intelligence that is produced by these professionals, and can take advantage of these sensitive sources to help make better decisions and policies. Your average citizen does not have that ace up their sleeve….