OTTAWA — A former chief of staff to a Liberal public safety minister has denied suggestions she worked to stall approval of a spy service warrant in early 2021 because it directly touched the operations of the Trudeau government.
Zita Astravas called the allegation “categorically false” during testimony late Wednesday at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
The inquiry has heard that it took 54 days for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warrant application to be approved by Bill Blair, public safety minister at the time.
The average turnaround time for such applications is four to 10 days.
Michelle Tessier, CSIS deputy director of operations during the
→ Continue reading at BIV