National security screening system can be strengthened, senior adviser to Carney says
A senior federal adviser says a government-wide registry of security clearance information would improve efficiency, reduce duplication and help departments identify where relevant personnel security data may already exist.
David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser to the prime minister, told MPs on a House of Commons committee Wednesday such a registry would be one way to strengthen Canada's national security screening process.
The Commons public safety and national security committee is holding hearings on the screening process following the arrest of a Canadian NATO intern on espionage allegations.
A federal source not authorized to speak publicly about the issue has said that officials in Canada were proceeding on the basis the suspect is Biwei Zhang — also known as Claire Zhang — who was previously employed by Canadian government agencies.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree previously told the Commons committee the woman arrested in Belgium had received a security clearance from Global Affairs Canada.
The clearance was granted even though court records said the federal Public Service Commission found in 2023 that Zhang committed fraud in an appointment process for a position with the Canada Border Services Agency.
The Federal Court dismissed her application for judicial review of the decision the following year. She submitted a letter of apology during the investigation into her actions.
Morrison, a former deputy minister of foreign affairs, pointed out that individual federal departments are accountable for deciding to issue security clearances, informed by centralized expertise.
The Treasury Board Secretariat establishes the policy framework, the Public Safety portfolio — through RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service — contributes criminality checks and national security assessments, and individual departments collect relevant information, assess risks and make security clearance decisions, he said.
Morrison declined to discuss specific cases, but he said a person screened to work at NATO would likely have a secret-level clearance.
He indicated that open source checks, such as internet searches of a person's history, are now being done for secret-level security screening — a tightening of the system following the arrest in Belgium.
Morrison told the MPs that open source verification should be used more consistently across government for a wider range of security levels. "Its use would also benefit from common tools, training standards and methodologies across departments," he said.
Morrison also suggested human resources-related information relevant to an assessment of an individual's reliability or loyalty should be available to personnel security decision makers without compromising privacy protections or procedural fairness.
Finally, he said a robust personnel security effort should extend throughout a person's employment in the form of insider risk programs, recurring screening, reporting obligations and security awareness. He said these measures would help identify emerging risks, ensure clearance holders remain reliable and loyal, and confirm that clearances reflect current information.
Security expert Wesley Wark said CSIS "shoulders the main burden" of security screening for the federal government, essentially through assessing loyalty to Canada and reliability as it relates to that loyalty. CSIS provides advice related to immigration files as well as on security clearance checks.
Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said the current system for security screening in Canada "is simply unsustainable," noting CSIS handles hundreds of thousands of screening requests annually.
"The dual burdens of immigration and security clearance screening on CSIS are simply too great and threaten, in my view, to erode the operational effectiveness of CSIS as it addresses its core missions," Wark said.
"An intelligence service should not be a security screening shop."
He suggested Canada follow the United Kingdom's lead and set up a separate, centralized organization for security clearances.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Jim Bronskill | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Anti-racism group calls for investigation into OPP recruit evaluations
An anti-racism organization is calling for an investigation into how Ontario's provincial police force assesses new recruits, as three Black recruits allege they faced racial discrimination during their year of probation.
The Black Class Action Secretariat says it wants the province's inspector general of policing to examine Ontario Provincial Police probationary evaluation and coaching practices as well as probationary outcome data across the force to look for racial disparities.
The group's director of advocacy says that while the OPP has an internal office that aims to ensure its policies and practices are inclusive, "the question is whether that commitment reaches the coach officer's notebook, the probation file, and the release decisions."
In a news conference today at the provincial legislature, Alain Babineau said there are people within police ranks quietly deciding "who belongs in uniform and who does not."
The call for an investigation comes as the non-profit says three Black recruits stationed in different regions faced a "strikingly similar pattern of discrimination." The OPP says it's looking into those concerns.
The secretariat says the recruits, who are sharing the allegations under pseudonyms under fear of reprisals, were mocked and penalized for their accents and communication styles and disciplined for behaviours common among white officers.
Two of the recruits were dismissed before the end of their probation period, while the other remains on medical leave, the group said.
A spokesperson for the OPP said the force acknowledges the concerns raised by the Black Class Action Secretariat on behalf of the three recruits.
"We take these matters seriously and are reviewing the various concerns brought forth," Staff Sgt. Joe Brisebois said in an email.
The force can't comment on specifics when it comes to employment-related matters, he said.
"What we can say is that the OPP is dedicated to ensuring open, accessible, equitable and respectful workplaces, and is committed to reflecting the diverse communities it serves," as well as ensuring a workplace that fosters a safe and inclusive environment, he said.
"We do not condone or tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind."
The Inspectorate of Policing, an independent oversight office that opened in 2024, acknowledged The Canadian Press's request for comment Wednesday but did not immediately provide one.
One of the recruits, who used the pseudonym Paul, said Wednesday he has two master's degrees and excelled at the police college, but found himself ridiculed and judged for the way he spoke after joining a detachment in the province's southeast.
"I caught my coach officer and my colleagues ridiculing me. A dispatcher joked on the record about my accent affecting a radio call," he said, phoning into the news conference.
"When I tried to discuss it, it was used against me," he said.
Paul said he was one of three Black officers in his detachment and was released from his position after 10 months. The experience changed his career, he said, adding he is "still trying to heal from the mistreatment and discrimination."
Another of the recruits going by the pseudonym Peter said he "immediately felt isolated" after reporting for duty at a detachment in central Ontario.
"My sergeant would make fun of how I pronounced some words, asking me to repeat things in front of my colleagues so everyone could laugh," he said in a call played at the news conference.
"I wasn't coached at all, it just felt like I was being watched to be documented."
Peter said he was reprimanded for using his phone's GPS to navigate the city when it was a "common practice" among his white colleagues.
The stress eventually caught up with him, and he went on medical leave in the spring, questioning whether to continue on this career path, he said.
Organizers also shared a statement on behalf of the third recruit, who went by the name John. John said he spent a decade in the human service field before becoming an officer, and was stationed at a detachment in southwestern Ontario — the only Black recruit in his platoon.
"I felt there was no trust or confidence in me from Day One," the statement said. "It felt like not only did they expect me to fail, they wanted me to fail."
He also faced reprimand for using his phone GPS when others were doing the same without issue, and at one point had his driving privileges taken away without explanation, he said.
John said he was let go two weeks before the end of his probation, on grounds that he was not a good fit. "What it really meant was that I didn't belong, that they didn't see me as one of them, that they didn't want me there," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
By Paola Loriggio | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Hydro-Québec, STM, SAQ : des sites inaccessibles au Québec à cause d’une faille mondiale
Ce n'est pas ton Wi-Fi qui fait défaut. 👀
Si tu as essayé de payer ta facture d'Hydro-Québec, de planifier un trajet sur le site de la STM ou de commander une bouteille sur le site de la SAQ ce mercredi 21 octobre, tu as probablement vu apparaître une page d’erreur. Ce n'est pas un hasard : plusieurs organisations québécoises et canadiennes ont fermé leur site par précaution à cause d'une faille de sécurité mondiale.
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En cause : PHP, un outil informatique invisible pour toi, mais qui fait fonctionner une bonne partie des sites que tu visites chaque jour. La PHP Foundation, qui gère son développement, a publié un correctif mercredi à 10 h (heure du Québec) et presse tous ceux et celles qui l'utilisent de faire la mise à jour sans attendre, selon son communiqué.
Concrètement, les deux vulnérabilités critiques découvertes dans PHP pourraient permettre à un pirate d’exécuter ses propres commandes sur un serveur à distance, sans même avoir besoin d’un mot de passe. La PHP Foundation leur a attribué une note de gravité de 9,2 sur 10.
Tant que chaque organisation n'a pas installé la mise à jour, son site risque de rester fermé.
Le gouvernement fédéral a d'ailleurs mis certains de ses sites hors ligne, suivant les directives du Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité. « Il s’agit d’un problème global, et d’autres gouvernements et organisations prennent eux aussi des mesures de protection », a écrit sur X Evan Solomon, ministre fédéral de l’Intelligence artificielle.
Quels sites sont touchés?

Au moment d’écrire ces lignes, ces sites étaient inaccessibles en tout ou en partie :
- Hydro-Québec (Espace client)
- Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
- Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ)
- Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)
- Statistique Canada et certains autres sites du gouvernement du Canada
- Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité
- Certains centres de services scolaires comme Marie-Victorin et des Affluents (y compris la plateforme Moodle)
Qu’est-ce que ça change pour toi?
Pour quelques heures, tu ne pourras peut-être pas payer ta facture d’Hydro-Québec, planifier un trajet sur le site de la STM ou faire certaines démarches en ligne. Rien n’indique que tes données aient été piratées : les fermetures sont une mesure de précaution.
Aucune heure de retour n’avait été annoncée au moment d’écrire ces lignes. Le ministre Solomon assure que les sites touchés reviendront dès que les correctifs seront appliqués : « Nous prenons cette situation extrêmement au sérieux. Nous remercions les équipes de cybersécurité qui travaillent à protéger les services sur lesquels les Canadiens comptent. »
Si ta démarche est urgente, passe par le téléphone ou en personne.
Il est également conseillé de te méfier des courriels et des textos qui te demandent de cliquer sur un lien pour « mettre ton compte à jour ». Attends que le site officiel soit de retour.

Des blagues sur les dénonciations font réagir au gala Les Olivier et Radio-Canada répond
Le dimanche 21 mars avait lieu le gala Les Olivier sur les ondes de Radio-Canada. Lors de cet événement qui célèbre le milieu de l'humour, des blagues concernant la vague de dénonciations d'inconduites et d'agressions sexuelles au sein du vedettariat québécois ont fait réagir sur les réseaux sociaux.
Sur Facebook, le commentaire d'un téléspectateur sur le sujet a même retenu l'attention de Radio-Canada, qui y a répondu.
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Les blagues en lien avec les dénonciations de l’été 2020
Au cours de la soirée dédiée aux humoristes québécois, quelques artistes ont fait référence à la vague de dénonciations qui a eu lieu en juillet et août 2020.
Dès le numéro d'ouverture, François Bellefeuille a mentionné la carrière de Julien Lacroix, alors qu'il a cessé ses activités après des allégations, ainsi que le retour de Maripier Morin à l'écran dans La Faille 2 et en tête d’affiche du nouveau film de Mariloup Wolfe.
Rosalie Vaillancourt, de son côté, s'est moquée du fait que la salle ne comptait qu'un nombre limité d'artistes et de spectateurs dû aux consignes de distanciation, en soulevant à la blague qu'elle ne pensait pas qu'autant de personnes du milieu avaient été dénoncées.
La réaction du public
Sur Twitter, le journaliste Hugo Dumas a cité la flèche de François Bellefeuille concernant Maripier Morin ainsi que la blague de Rosalie Vaillancourt.
Au moment de publier ces lignes, le tweet à propos de Maripier Morin cumule près de 300 likes et celui concernant Rosalie plus de 650.
Cela dit, sur la page Facebook de Radio-Canada, un commentaire mentionne avoir l'impression que les participants du gala s'acharnaient sur Julien Lacroix suite aux propos à son égard.
Le gestionnaire dudit compte Facebook a donc répondu publiquement à l'auteur du commentaire.
[rebelmouse-image 26010941 photo_credit="Radio-Canada | Facebook" expand=1 original_size="1170x230"] Radio-Canada | Facebook
La réponse de Radio-Canada face à Julien Lacroix
[rebelmouse-image 26010942 photo_credit="Radio-Canada | Facebook" expand=1 original_size="1178x558"] Radio-Canada | Facebook
Le 27 juillet 2020, un article paru dans Le Devoir a dévoilé que Julien Lacroix était visé par plusieurs allégations entourant des inconduites sexuelles.
Par la suite, l'agence de Julien a rompu ses liens avec celui-ci et l'humoriste a quitté les réseaux sociaux après s'être exprimé à deux reprises au sujet de la controverse.
Cinq mois plus tard, il a présenté une lettre d'excuses en janvier 2021 sur ses réseaux sociaux afin de parler de son processus thérapeutique, ce qui a suscité plusieurs réactions de la part des gens qui l'ont côtoyé.
Radio-Canada a donc répondu au commentaire en ajoutant le lien vers l'article parlant des neuf femmes qui l'ont dénoncé :
« On peut comprendre qu'un milieu veuille se distancier de cette personne. »
[rebelmouse-image 26010943 photo_credit="Radio-Canada | Facebook" expand=1 original_size="1064x522"] Radio-Canada | Facebook
Un internaute a ensuite répondu que ce n'était peut-être pas le moment de faire des blagues de la sorte, ce à quoi le diffuseur a répliqué que les humoristes « n'ont [actuellement] pas tant de tribunes aussi larges que ça » pour le faire.