Ben Makuch’s reporting on national and international security issues has taken him from Eastern Europe to talking to Canadian foreign fighters to challenging the Canadian government in the Supreme Court over protections for journalists. Over the magic of the internet, Stephanie sits down with Ben and they talk about his latest reporting on far right extremism and white nationalist movements in Canada, the United States, Ukraine and the growing links between these movements. Is law enforcement pa...
Mar 07, 2020•37 min
Craig and Stephanie beamed in Steven Hoffman , the Director of the Global Strategy Lab , a Professor of Global Health, Law, and Political Science at York University , and the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Population & Public Health . We do a deep dive into the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Steven discusses the significance of this novel virus and walks us through the global and national legal and policy response — this is very much a response...
Feb 27, 2020•47 min
There has been a lot of discussion in the media about 5G, but not a lot of information on what 5G actually is and how it is different from what has come before. Stephanie sits down with Ericsson’s VP, Chief Technology Officer, David Everingham who breaks it all down – even though Stephanie keeps trying to switch the analogies all back to cake. A useful episode for those looking for a bit of tech-support in trying to think through the challenging policy issues.
Feb 21, 2020•35 min
Using the magic of the internet once again, Stephanie sits down with Leah and Mike to discuss developments in two terrorism cases: Peshdary and Ali. In the former, Leah talks to Peshdary’s legal team to work through what a “Wilson Application” is and why a defence team might use it in a national security case. Turning to Ali, Mike discusses the findings of the Court and asks when is a terrorist group not a group? Our terrorism legislation is not making anything easy…
Feb 13, 2020•42 min
The fact that crimes committed by individuals appearing to be motivated by some ideologies (such as far right extremism) are considered as “hate crimes” and not “terrorist offences” has been a frequent theme of Intrepid Podcast. In this week’s episode, recorded on the second anniversary of the Quebec Mosque Shooting, Stephanie sits down (over the internet) with Michael Nesbitt who has done some work to actually put some numbers to this phenomenon. Why is it that 53/54 terrorism offenses were cha...
Feb 01, 2020•37 min
There has been a lot written and said about the US-Iran conflict in Iraq earlier this month. At INTREPID, we waited for (a little bit) of the dust to settle and dedicated this podcast to walking through the international legal issues. We talk jus ad bellum (right to use force) and jus in bello (the law of armed conflict) in relation to military clashes between 27 December and 8 January, including the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752. We also discuss some of the threats made b...
Jan 20, 2020•1 hr 3 min
With news that the Sussexes may be leaving the UK for Canada, Stephanie is FINALLY interested in Crown issues but Craig is not (we call it Craigxit). Nevertheless, Phil walks through Prince Harry’s status/non-status in Canada and, using recent reports about former Governor Generals in the news, describes what his powers would be. (To be clear though, unlike Stephanie, Phil is not a fan of this idea and he explains why.) Listeners, please excuse the couple of “booms” on the podcast – Phil tends t...
Jan 17, 2020•47 min
There is a lot going on in the world right now. But Stephanie and Craig wanted to catch up first with a development just before the holidays: The Supreme Court’s decision in Vavilov. This case is famous (in the narrow circles Craig lives in) for what it has done to “administrative law”. It is also famous for concerning the children of two Russian “illegals” — that is, Russian sleeper agents who fraudulently assumed Canadian citizenship — and the question of whether the children themselves are Ca...
Jan 09, 2020•54 min
Well, tear yourself away from Alan Maitland’s reading of “The Shepherd”, because it’s time for the second annual INTREPID Christmas special, an event literally no one was waiting for. This time, it’s armed conflict at the top of the world, as Santa Claus (ruler of Christmastown) squares off against Boss Elf (the leader of the Island of Misfit Toys dictatorship). Everything goes wrong, until the Christmas Magic arrives.
Dec 21, 2019•42 min
Because of the proceedings underway before the International Court of Justice today (10 December 2019) concerning Myanmar’s genocide against the Rohingya, Stephanie and Craig to a walk-through of the crime of genocide, the 1948 Genocide Convention, the basis for ICJ jurisdiction and also the parallel criminal investigation launched by the (separate) International Criminal Court. It’s international law day.
Dec 11, 2019•40 min
Jessica Davis and Michael Nesbitt sit down with Stephanie to discuss sanctions in light of a new case in Nova Scotia. Nader Kalai is the first person to be charged with violating Canadian and European Union sanctions on Syria. The gang takes the time to remind viewers what sanctions are and what the Canadian regime looks like (it’s been a while – the last time was Episode 5!) Does this charge mean the Public Prosecution Service of Canada is starting to take a more ambitious approach to prosecuti...
Dec 05, 2019•33 min
For those who love weedy public law issues, Stephanie, Philippe and Craig finally steer back to the national security preoccupation of INTREPID, in this latest HMIROP chapter. Specifically, they mix it up (fight) over the scope of the royal prerogative over defence in Canadian law. In exchanging blows, they basically cover two issues: what is the constitutional status of the prerogative; and, whether there is any virtue in putting some matters covered by the prerogative on a statutory footing. T...
Nov 26, 2019•43 min
This episode the Intrepid Gang takes on four important national security trials that have been in the news and have important implications for national security law. First, we talk about the decision to revoke bail in the Ortis case and what this may say about where the trial is going. Next, it seems to be that a bifurcated system for evidence in the Huang case is causing endless delays – are the courts trying to find new solutions? Third, a guilty verdict was returned in the Sharif trial – but ...
Nov 22, 2019•55 min
Stephanie and Craig are back with Philippe Lagassé and special guest Adam Dodek, dean of the Faculty of Law (Common Law Section) at uOttawa. It’s time to bring the constitution up to date! In this episode, we focus on the Constitution Act 1982 and its headline components, especially the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “aboriginal” rights, and how the constitution can be amended through amendment formulas. We discuss the political context that produced this “patriation” package. And we l...
Nov 11, 2019•59 min
Recent weeks have seen dramatic changes in the Middle East – Trump’s withdrawal from Syria, the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the return of mass popular protests in the region. Oh, and Iran just announced it will restart 1000 centrifuges in the latest blow to the nuclear agreement. To make sense of it all, Stephanie sat down (using the magic of the internet) to speak with Intrepid Podcast Editors Amarnath Amarasingam and Thomas Juneau about these developments and what ...
Nov 07, 2019•49 min
The moment you have been waiting for! Stephanie, Craig and Philippe Lagassé are back for the next chapter in Canada’s rollicking constitutional history. In this chapter, we cover events from 1867 to 1982: imperial conferences, controversies and, not to be missed, the Colonial Laws Validity Act and the Statute of Westminster Act. A sideways dash through the King-Byng affair. And then a fast forward through to the Patriation Controversy of the early 1980s. Stephanie required adrenaline shots, but ...
Oct 30, 2019•52 min
Stephanie sits down with Intrepid Podcast Editors Jessica and Leah to discuss national security issues in the 2019 Federal Party Platforms. Intrepid podcast is strictly a non-partisan affair so policies are treated as ideas to be evaluated for effectiveness and feasibility. They discuss plans for CBSA, review and oversight, cyber-security, counter-terrorism and sanctions. But the only political message they have for our audience is to VOTE! (Stephanie is still learning the editing ropes so there...
Oct 19, 2019•50 min
Intrepid Podcast Editors, Leah West and Amar Amarasingam travelled to the Kurdish-controlled camps in Syria where Islamic State prisoners are being held. This was a week before US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw troops from the region, causing chaos in an already fragile situation. On Tuesday October 8, before Turkish armed forces began striking Kurdish positions, Stephanie interviewed Leah and Amar about what they saw, including conditions in the camp, riots and talking to Canadian p...
Oct 16, 2019•41 min
Stephanie and Craig are back with Philippe Lagassé, for the second installment of our special feature: Her Majesty in Right of Pod, a deep-dive on the origins of Canadian public law and constitutional law. In the first chapter, we examined the emergence in the United Kingdom of concepts like the rule of law, parliamentary supremacy, responsible government, and judicial independence. In this chapter, we examine how what happened in England did not stay in England. Here, we talk about the receptio...
Oct 09, 2019•44 min
Stephanie and Craig are back with their first “explainer” episode for this new season, focusing on a specific area of national security law. This week, they rip an issue from the headlines in the United States. They examine how whistleblower protection works in Canadian law for members of the public service generally, the main intelligence services, and in the context of the Security of Information Act. And all this through this year’s first “INTREPID podcast storytime”! Addendum: here’s one of ...
Oct 03, 2019•44 min
As promised, the crew at INTREPID is starting a few new “features” this season — the first is a sit-down with Philippe Lagasse, Crown scholar extraordinaire, to discuss the public law architecture of modern Canada (within which all national security law and practice — and all other exercises of governmental power — is entrenched). In this inaugural episode we march through several of the most important principles that continue to animate our system of law and government (rule of law, parliamenta...
Sep 27, 2019•44 min
The INTREPID team assembles: Stephanie hosts as Jessica Davis, Leah West and Michael Nesbitt join her for a discussion about the breaking news that a top RCMP intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, was arrested on September 13 and charged with violating the Security of Information Act (SOIA). Jess describes the kinds of information someone like Ortis would have access to and why it would be so dangerous if he committed the crimes of which he is accused. Leah and Mike discuss the rarely used SOIA ...
Sep 16, 2019•47 min
The INTREPID Team is BACK for 2019-2020! This is officially Season 3, and Craig and Stephanie provide a quick briefing about our plans for the podcast and a bunch of new themes for the show. This includes our “national security in the news” round-ups, national security law and policy briefs, our “podsite” series, foreign affairs deep-dives, and giving Philippe Lagassé a microphone and the ability to talk about the Westminster system and Crown powers in a new special project. But first, we need t...
Sep 12, 2019•21 min
For the last official podcast of Season 2, Stephanie plays the role of interviewer to Craig and regular guest (and Intrepid Blog founder) Thomas Juneau for a discussion about Iran. This is part of our occasional series on Canadian foreign policy in relation to particular states. In this episode we ask: Why did Canada split with Iran and why did the Trudeau government fail to re-open relations despite its 2015 election promise? What are the legalities of the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act a...
Jul 30, 2019•52 min
Stephanie and Craig are very pleased to welcome to the show (as our last “podsight” guest of Season 2) Tricia Geddes, Assistant Director Policy at CSIS. Tricia talks about her career in the security & intelligence community and her present role as assistant director policy — and all that entails at CSIS. She looks back on lessons-learned from the policy development phase for bill C-59, and looks forward to how policy development might work in the future. She also discusses transparency and a...
Jul 23, 2019•46 min
With three episodes left in season 2, Stephanie and Craig return with their last news roundup before breaking for August. Most of bill C-59 came into force this week (and the CSE Act will come into force on August 1). This podcast has the details of the provisions now in force. And CSIS was in the news twice this month: once in relation to a BC Civil Liberties Association complaint about alleged “spying” by CSIS implicating environmentalists; and more recently after the federal Conservative Part...
Jul 20, 2019•47 min
Stephanie and Craig are back to discuss the recent listing as a terrorist group of two (related) right-wing extremist groups — the first time this has happened in Canada. They walk through how listing works in the Criminal Code and the implications of listing. They then focus on the government’s newly announced national security transparency advisory group, complementing its national security transparency principles. They end with an update on some reporting on electoral interference in Canada....
Jul 04, 2019•43 min
Stephanie sat down with Thomas Juneau, A Blog Called INTREPID founding editor and uOttawa professor. They discussed recent developments in the Middle East, with a focus on Saudi Arabia and Canadian foreign policy issues. This is one in an occasional series we are doing on regional national security and international relations issues, looked at through the prism of Canadian interests.
Jun 28, 2019•43 min
I'm more than a bill. Yes, I'm no longer only a bill. And I'm no longer sitting here on Parliament Hill. Well, it's been a long, long journey To the capital city. It's been a long, long wait While I was sitting in committee, But I’m now law this day This is our Bill C-59 episode ultimate issue, recorded an hour after Bill C-59 received royal assent, and became a statute! We offer some wrap up observations about that legislative process. And then we talk about the other development on Friday: the...
Jun 22, 2019•42 min
Stephanie and Craig are honoured to welcome to the show Ralph Goodale, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. In this “podsight”, we discuss with the Minister the challenges of heading such a busy and complex portfolio. We then launch into a discussion of bill C-59 and its progress through Parliament, before “future-casting” on important public policy issues in the Public Safety portfolio. These include: new legislation on cybersecurity standards in select critical infrastruct...
Jun 10, 2019•45 min
