Canada’s spy agency has a new leader as accusations of foreign interference and aggression heat up.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office appointed Daniel Rogers as the next director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), effective October 28.
He spent many years of his public service career working in Canadian intelligence. Most recently, he served as deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister. Previously, he spent a decade working at the Communications Security Agency, Canada’s foreign signals intelligence agency.
Rogers’ appointment comes amid growing concerns about Chinese and Indian government interference in Canadian politics.
On Monday, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme publicly alleged that Indian government agents had played a role in “widespread” acts of violence in Canada, including murder.
Over the past year, CSIS has also had to openly confront the growing threat of foreign interference from the governments of China and India.
CSIS’s response to these threats has been questioned by participants in ongoing investigations into foreign interference.
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, who oversees the public inquiry into foreign interference, wrote that CSIS could be “careful with details when telling others about the intelligence it has gathered and the conclusions it has drawn.”
CSIS grapples with a sexual assault scandal
Rogers also takes over as calls for cultural reform at the spy agency increase following fallout from rape and harassment allegations tied to the agency’s British Columbia office.
According to a report from the Canadian Press, a CSIS officer said she was raped nine times in 2019 and 2020 by a senior colleague while in a surveillance vehicle. The second officer said he was then sexually assaulted by the same man, even though CSIS officers were reportedly warned not to pair the man with young women.
Former director David Vigneault promised reform before stepping down earlier this year.
Rogers will oversee a broader range of intelligence agencies. In June, the federal government passed Bill C-70, a wide-ranging law to combat foreign interference.
This bill changes how CSIS applies for warrants, updates the rules regarding who can be briefed by CSIS, and launches a long-awaited foreign influence transparency registry.
