Canadian Spy Agency Admits Terrorist Attack 'Now Probable'

Ottawa (CNSNews.com) - Canada's top spy agency -- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) -- admits that a terrorist attack on Canadian soil is "now probable," but adds that such an attack is more likely to target Canadian interests abroad.

The government statement was revealed Wednesday with the publication of an edited report drawn up by CSIS last November and covering the years 2004-05. The edited version was released following an Access to Information request by Canada's national news agency, the Canadian Press.

"During the past year," according to the CSIS report, "Canada and Canadian interests abroad continued to be under threat from al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups. While the threat remains concentrated overseas, an attack on Canadian soil is now probable."

Reid Morden, A former head of CSIS, said Wednesday that Canada has taken a lot of security-related steps since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, "but more has to be done."

Canada's transit systems, oil and gas distribution systems and the nation's electric grid are the most vulnerable, Morden said, "particularly if terrorists want to strike at the United States without going there."

In addition to al Qaeda and its affiliated groups, Canada faces a "threat of further attacks by Sunni extremists and other like-minded groups," the CSIS report states.

On this point, Morden said Sunni extremist groups have long presented a concern to Canada's security agencies, but Canada's presence in Afghanistan and its close alliance with the United States have escalated that threat.

The full CSIS report was given to Canada's Liberal-led government last November. The country's recently installed Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper submitted its first budget earlier this month and called for strengthening security along the border with the United States and increased cooperation on security matters.

Al Qaeda has for a long time listed Canada as a possible target for future attacks. The country was included in a list of target countries by the terrorist group in November 2002 and again in March 2004.

Stephen Rigby, Harper's acting national security adviser, said Canada was paying "a lot more" attention to possible terrorist attacks on transit systems in light of terrorist attacks against commuters in both Madrid and London in the last couple of years.

But Rigby insisted that Canada had "no specific evidence" of a plot to attack the country at present.

Morden agreed and said one of the problems for the authorities was "finding the line between being prudent and being scared."

"No security system can be 100 percent. We've done a lot, but a lot more has to be done," he said.