We recently enjoyed an excellent evening at the Fort with five former members of our Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) who spoke to us about their experiences working in CSIS. In 2024 CSIS marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of CSIS from the RCMP Security Service. Four of the five members had transitioned from the RCMP Security Service, and it was fascinating to hear their individual stories about their transition and experiences. While less is known about CSIS, it is another critical element of our national security backbone and, given the current security challenges around the world, CSIS has become even more vital to our national security. Lastly, there was plenty of discussion about whether or not Canada should have a dedicated foreign intelligence service. Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a dedicated foreign intelligence organization and for many of us this needs to change.

On Thursday December 18^th, we will conduct an AGM combined with a Happy Hour. The plan is to conduct it entirely in the Mess this year. Our Institute has grown over the last year with now 127 members and we have evolved our website to be more informative and user friendly thanks to our excellent Executive team. We have teamed up with Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) and RCMI Kingston and now have closer ties with CDA and CDAI. We are attempting to better integrate ourselves into the local community and we will conduct another Defence Forum similar to our October Forum likely next November. We are currently looking for a volunteer to assist us in organizing next year’s event.

We have a series of superb speakers lined up for the New Year starting with the recent Deputy Commander of NORAD, LGen (Retired) Blaise Frawley who will speak to continental air defence on January 15^th. This presentation will be followed by one of our members, Dr. Sté​fanie von Hlatky who will discuss NATO on February 5^th.