—

🍁 Politics in the Pub! Top Secret Canada

When: Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Where: The Sticky Wicket Pub, Wicket Hall, the Strathcona Hotel, 919 Douglas Street
For: This is a CIC member only event
Time: 5 – 7:00 pm (doors open at 5 pm)
Our Speaker: John Pyrik

In 2024, for the first time ever, Canada published its intelligence priorities. Traditional threats that were included were foreign interference, espionage, Arctic security, defence operations, serious crime to a degree and border related issues. Non-traditional threats included climate change, food security, supply chain, health security, and immigration security – all these marking the first time non-traditional threats have been recognized in Canada’s intelligence priorities.

Among the Five Eyes intelligence partners, only New Zealand publishes its intelligence priorities. The closest US equivalent is the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report.

At this session, John Pyrik, the co-author of the recently published Questions Raised by the Recently Released Canadian Intelligence Priorities, will share his thoughts on what motivated the Privy Council Office to take this unusual step of publishing our intelligence priorities and then lead a discussion of what is missing on the list and also the pros and cons of making the list public.

Our speaker, John Pyrik is currently an instructor in the graduate studies program of the Justice Institute of British Columbia. His 27-year career in government began as an intelligence officer for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) where he conducted investigations into terrorism and economic espionage. He then worked as an investigator for the BC Securities Commission on cases of market fraud, broker misconduct, and insider trading. When Canada established FINTRAC, its new anti-money laundering agency, he joined as a senior analyst and team leader. Mid-career he became interested in improving the tradecraft of analysis so he became a scholar-in-residence at Carleton University. The following year, the Privy Council Office (PCO) chose him to create and manage a new government-wide Intelligence Analyst Learning Program. He later became the first ever “analytic methodologist” at CSIS and their first chief of analytic training. He left the government in 2017.

—

To attend this event please email us at: cicvicpip@gmail.com

The event is open to CIC members only. The cost to attend is $22.50, which will cover a first drink and a round of appetizers.

Confirmation of your registration along with payment instructions will be provided. If you are not able to attend after registering, your registration fee will be reimbursed if we can fill the cancellation from a waiting list. Otherwise, refunds cannot be given.

Image by Peter Wiberg from Pixabay