Defence Minister Bill Blair said he’s unaware what caused a delay in his approval of a warrant application to surveil an Ontario politician while Blair was minister of public safety.
The Foreign Interference Commission heard in recent days that CSIS had submitted its warrant 54 days prior to when it was finally signed off by Blair in the spring of 2021.
Evidence presented at the commission indicates it usually takes four to 10 days for the minister to approve a warrant and Blair testified on Oct. 11 he had approved two separate warrants during the same time period.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had notified Blair’s then-chief of staff, Zita Astravas, before sending the warrant to the minister’s office for approval. Astravas had also met on two other occasions with CSIS about the warrant after it was sent to Blair’s office….