CSIS chief defends his spies' work after PM casts doubt on reliability of agency's reports

The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service appeared before the foreign interference inquiry Friday to defend his agency's work, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested he sometimes doubts the reliability of CSIS reports.

The fact-finding stage of the inquiry was supposed to wrap up on Wednesday, but Vigneault was recalled after multiple witnesses suggested they were not briefed by CSIS on specifics regarding intelligence it gathered on Chinese election interference.

18 hours agoDavid Vigneault, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, appeared before the foreign interference inquiry Friday to defend his agency's work after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested he sometimes doubts the reliability of CSIS reports.

During his testimony before the inquiry Wednesday, Trudeau said he never saw some of the briefing notes — echoing a claim made by his deputy chief of staff Brian Clow earlier in the week.

Commissioner Justice Marie-Josee Hogue listens as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a witness at the Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

This fall, the commission is expected to hold another round of hearings focused on Canada's capacity to detect and deter foreign interference, with a final report due by year's end.