On May 9, the NATO Association of Canada hosted Andrew Kirsch at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto. Kirsch, a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) intelligence officer and the founder and president of the Kirsch Group, spoke about his book, I Was Never Here: My True Canadian Spy Story of Coffees, Code Names and Covert Operations in the Age of Terrorism (2022), and national security.
Through a series of anecdotes, Kirsch related his years years working at CSIS in different roles. He also illuminated CSIS’ purpose and functions, as well as shared insights on an organization known for its secrecy.
“Listening to Andrew talk about CSIS made the organization real and put a human face to the institution,” observed Robert Baines, president and CEO of the NATO Association of Canada.
The event stressed CSIS’ contribution to Canada’s national security and its role in combatting a host of threats.
In so doing, the evening furthered the NATO Association of Canada’s mission of raising the Canadian public’s awareness of the rules-based international order and security and security-related issues.
Kirsch shares this goal. After the event, he commented by email: “As I said in my presentation, whatever safety we enjoy as a country is not an accident and is not guaranteed to continue. I think it’s important more people know about organizations such as NATO and CSIS that do what they can to keep us safe!”
The NATO Association of Canada regularly publishes commentaries on, and hosts in-person and virtual discussions about, global affairs and security-related issues. The NATO Association of Canada’s homepage features the latest publications. And for future events, please visit the “Upcoming Events” page and follow us on Twitter.
