Secure Line

In the season three finale, hosts Steph, Leah, and Jess share their summer reading lists with a national security flavour, along with personal updates and summer plans. They might not be what you think of as traditional beach reads, but these books have it all for Secure Line listeners. 
Steph is calling in from the south of France, where she's spending 12 weeks on an intensive French language course (DELF B2 level). Her reads reflect her immersion: a French graphic novel history of Russia (Un Russe), a novel about a teacher helping refugees learn French (Francais Long Etranger), and Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express — in French. She also shares an advance copy of J.M. Berger's upcoming thriller The Pope's Hitman(described as "John Wick meets the Conclave"), and plugs her own newly released book on the Canadian far right, For Blood and Soil.
Jess recommends Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling (narrative nonfiction about a man impersonating a Russian kleptocrat's son), Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower/Talentsduology, Corey Doctorow's The Bevel, and David McWilliams' A History of Money.
Leah is revisiting Brave New World through the lens of AI and modern politics, reading Sarah Isgur's Last Branch Standing on the US Supreme Court, and has just picked up The Double Black Box by national security lawyer Ashley Deeks on AI and democratic accountability.
The episode wraps with summer plans: Leah is finishing a book and training for the Chicago Marathon. Jess is wrapping up travel, doing consulting work, playing pickleball, and editing her third book (pending peer reviews!). Steph is returning to Ottawa after four months of travel and launching several new research projects, some of which are super secret that she won’t even tell her cohosts about.

In this episode of Secure Line, the hosts unpack the federal government’s proposed new Financial Crimes Agency and what it could mean for the future of financial crime enforcement in Canada. Jessica Davis explains why Canada’s current fragmented approach—largely dependent on the RCMP’s overstretched federal policing mandate—has repeatedly failed to prioritize complex financial crime investigations, making the creation of a dedicated agency both necessary and long overdue. The discussion explores the proposed agency’s broad mandate, including money laundering, major fraud, capital market crimes, and proceeds of crime recovery, while also examining major challenges around staffing, organizational culture, coordination with the RCMP, and the risk of bureaucratic competition. The hosts debate whether the new agency represents meaningful reform or simply another layer added to Canada’s already complicated security architecture. 

The episode also examines major proposed changes to Canada’s Elections Act, particularly measures designed to counter foreign interference and illicit political finance. Leah West outlines new provisions targeting intimidation, foreign funding, misinformation, and third-party influence during elections, while Jessica Davis highlights what may be one of the most significant yet under-discussed developments: an effective prohibition on cryptocurrency donations to political parties, candidates, and third parties. The hosts connect these reforms to broader debates around crypto regulation, foreign interference, and financial transparency, including proposals to ban cryptocurrency ATMs in Canada due to their growing use in fraud and scams. 

Throughout the episode, the conversation reflects on what these legislative developments reveal about the Carney government’s broader national security posture. While the hosts remain cautious about unresolved issues—particularly RCMP reform and implementation challenges—they describe a noticeable shift toward more serious, sustained engagement with national security, financial crime, and foreign interference issues across party lines. The episode balances skepticism with an unusually optimistic tone, framing these reforms as evidence that Canadian policymakers may finally be beginning to “quietly care” about national security in a more meaningful and operational way. 

For more on the proposed financial crimes agency: https://www.readtheline.ca/cp/196965025

Bill C-22, the federal government’s latest lawful access legislation, is back—and so is the debate over how Canada should balance privacy rights with the needs of law enforcement and national security agencies. In this episode of Secure Line, Steph and Leah West unpack the major reforms made to Bill C-22 since its predecessor, Bill C-2, and assess whether the government has meaningfully addressed earlier constitutional and civil liberties concerns. They explore what lawful access is, why the government argues reform is necessary, and where critics remain deeply skeptical. 
The discussion dives into the bill’s most controversial provisions, including subscriber information demands, mutual legal assistance reforms, systemic vulnerability definitions, and new data retention authorities for service providers. Leah explains which aspects of the bill appear significantly improved, where important constitutional concerns remain, and why one provision in particular might still be vulnerable to judicial challenge. The episode also examines what Bill C-22 suggests about the Carney government’s broader willingness to expend political capital on national security legislation.

In this episode of Secure Line, Jessica Davis and Leah West are joined by Thomas Juneau and Stephanie Carvin to discuss their new article examining the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA)—one of Canada’s most important, yet least understood, national security institutions.
The conversation explores a deceptively simple question: who reviews the reviewers? Drawing on extensive interview-based research, Thomas and Stephanie unpack how NSIRA has performed since its creation, where it has succeeded in improving transparency and accountability, and where tensions have emerged between reviewers and the intelligence community.
The discussion examines major themes including methodology disputes, trust and culture within Canada’s intelligence review ecosystem, the challenge of balancing compliance with effectiveness, and whether NSIRA has at times drifted from “guardian” into “lemon sucker” territory. The episode also explores broader questions about democratic accountability, institutional design, and how Canada can strengthen review without undermining the effectiveness of its national security institutions.
A thoughtful and candid conversation on the promises—and growing pains—of modern intelligence review in Canada.
To read the open-access paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2026.2637865

In this episode of Secure Line, Jessica Davis, Stephanie Carvin, and Leah West are joined by leading Canadian national security law expert Craig Forcese to unpack a timely and complex question: is international law breaking down—or simply evolving under pressure?
The conversation begins with the concept of “rupture” in the global order, sparked by recent political rhetoric and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Drawing on history, Forcese argues that disruption is not new to international law; rather, it has always adapted alongside great power competition. The discussion explores whether today’s challenges—particularly U.S. behavior, Russian aggression, and conflict involving Iran—represent a true break from the rules-based system or a continuation of long-standing tensions.
The episode dives deep into the legal frameworks governing the use of force, including self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and examines how states justify (or fail to justify) military action. A key theme is the importance of legal discourse: even when states act unlawfully, they typically invoke international law to legitimize their behavior—raising concerns when they stop doing so.
The hosts also explore the weakening role of the United Nations Security Council, the rise of “grey zone” tactics that operate below the threshold of war, and the growing complexity of attributing state responsibility—particularly in conflicts involving proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
Despite these pressures, the episode offers a cautiously optimistic view. International law, while imperfect and often contested, still shapes state behavior, constrains escalation, and underpins global alliances. For middle powers like Canada, the challenge is not to abandon the system, but to reinforce it—maintaining the “grit” that slows the slide toward conflict.
Ultimately, the episode asks: if international law isn’t dead, what role should it play in an increasingly unstable world?