Distrust of DND a threat to security
Federal agencies' suspicions about military have undermined anti-terror efforts, report says
Defence Department officials are not trusted by their counterparts in other federal agencies, making the development of a surveillance network to protect the country against terrorists and other threats extremely difficult, according to a report commissioned by the military.
The study, produced last year by a consulting firm for the Department of National Defence, warns that other government agencies are suspicious of their military counterparts when it comes to co-operation in sharing information. The Canadian Forces provides support to various federal departments in helping monitor the country's airspace and coastlines.
But some agencies believe that support is only grudgingly given by the Defence Department and any time the military is hit with a budget cut, such support is the first to be reduced. In addition, the agencies believe the Defence Department frequently uses its security regulations in an arbitrary way to avoid co-operation, according to the report examining the country's surveillance needs.
"Unless considerable trust can be established among potential partners, a national surveillance strategy will be very difficult to achieve," it concludes. "Unfortunately, DND is not fully trusted by many potential partners."
The report recommends a significant effort to build up trust between Defence and other agencies. It did not specifically identify the organizations that do not trust Defence officials, but it noted the development of a national surveillance network to respond to a terrorist attack or natural disaster would require the efforts of many federal departments.
The report was recently released under the Access to Information law.
A Defence official said in late December that no one would be available until mid-January to comment on whether the department has acted on the concerns raised in the report.
But in previous interviews, Canadian navy officers have noted they are working on improving the country's coastal surveillance capabilities and are leading a program to link various federal agencies in Ottawa together into one intelligence-gathering network. That $155-million program will see officials from Transport Canada, the Coast Guard, Canada Border Services, RCMP, the Fisheries Department and the military working closer together. The joint effort would keep tabs on everything from illegal fishing boats to terrorists and drug dealers. Military officials stressed they were fostering co-operation with various agencies.
David Harris, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service official, said there have been some improvements since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in how Canadian federal departments share surveillance and intelligence information. "By and large the co-operation has been reasonable, but there is certainly room for improvement," said Mr. Harris, president of INSIGNIS Strategic Research, a private security firm.
He said one of the main obstacles in having departments co-operate on intelligence and surveillance matters is the different "cultures" and mandates of each federal agency. Military officials would approach issues much differently than their civilian counterparts, he added.
The report also points out there are currently about 400 surveillance and intelligence projects in various stages of development at the Defence Department, but there is no single agency co-ordinating these activities. In some cases, the projects overlap and those employees working on the programs are not even aware of the existence of similar programs.
The study suggests other government agencies should learn about the technology the Defence Department is developing so they can make better use of it. It notes, for example, that information provided by air force maritime patrols to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans makes up a significant portion of the surveillance information that agency receives. But Fisheries officials are likely not aware of the full details of a Defence Department project to upgrade surveillance sensors on its Aurora patrol aircraft and how that might improve information-gathering, the study added.
In addition, since government agencies have separate computer systems they cannot easily exchange information.
The report recommends the Defence Department should also develop better relationships with other levels of government.
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=054cce36-f45b-4cf5-b778-b1f2edb7344d&page=2
I guess you get what you pay for