OTTAWA–The Liberals are proposing new powers for Canada’s electronic spies to launch cyber attacks against foreign individuals, terrorist groups, and even nation states.

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has traditionally been limited to electronic espionage and defending Canada’s networks against hostile actors.

But the Liberals’ sweeping national security overhaul, Bill C-59, would change that.

Tabled by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Tuesday, C-59 would give CSE the explicit mandate to go on the offensive.

“Canadians expect us to have all the necessary tools to protect our infrastructure and our security,” Harjit Sajjan, the minister responsible for CSE, told reporters Tuesday.

“This (legislation) now provides direct clarity, in terms of what CSE can do, but also the ability to provide assistance to various agencies . . . , but, at the same time, utilize their unique capabilities within a strict approval process.”

The agency’s new offensive mandate is broad. With the go-ahead from the ministers of defence and global affairs, CSE can engage in a variety of offensive actions such as shutting down servers or disrupting information flowing online.

Agency officials, who briefed reporters on the condition they not be named, stressed they don’t expect to frequently resort to offensive actions. Instead, the officials suggested cyber attacks would be a last resort, only taken if Canadian intelligence agencies could see no other way to achieve their goal.

Nevertheless, the new powers, coupled with a new job category of “cyber operator” within the military, seem to be an acknowledgement from the Canadian government of the growing importance of cyber warfare.

There are signs that even CSE is not quite sure how this will all play out. Officials could not say how, or if, the Canadian public will be informed about cyber attacks conducted in its name.

Unlike conventional warfare, where people are likely to know if Canadian soldiers are attacking a terrorist group or hostile nation, cyber war is conducted largely away from citizens’ eyes.

When asked if the government will inform Canadians when it approves cyber operations, Sajjan suggested that most will be conducted in secret.

“Just like any other type of operation we conduct, it goes through a very strict process, and, obviously, for national security reasons, we can’t outline a lot of the work that is being done. I think Canadians understand that,” Sajjan said.

“What the CSE Act does now is allow the CSE to assist the Canadian Armed Forces, which was not the case before; they could only provide the intelligence. So this allows CSE to be able to (use) their specialized tools and skills to make sure . . . our interests are protected.”

A provision within the bill also allows CSE to take whatever precautions necessary to “maintain the covert nature” of cyber attacks.

Goodale added the government is proposing a stronger regime of review for the intelligence community, including CSE, that would report on the agencies’ operations every year.

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The Liberals have also tabled a bill that would create parliamentary oversight for Canada’s intelligence agencies, providing increased civilian control over spies’ operations.

With the House of Commons expected to break this week for its summer recess, debate over Bill C-59 will wait until September.