OTTAWA–The federal government plans to try to revive the extraordinary anti-terror police powers of "investigative hearings" and "preventive arrest" as part of a series of major security initiatives.

The initiatives will also include legislation to replace the overly secretive "security certificate" regime used to deport terror suspects that was criticized in a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling.

The government also says it will expand the ability of Canada's spy agency – the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) – to do covert foreign intelligence gathering abroad.

The two police powers slated for revival were killed by the opposition parties in a parliamentary vote in February.

In an appearance yesterday before the House of Commons public safety committee, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day indicated he has drafted a bill to reinstate those powers.

The Bloc Québécois and the NDP opposed any extension of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act's sections that were automatically "sunsetted" in February, and both party critics said in interviews yesterday they continue to oppose the measures.

They say the Criminal Code has enough provisions to deal with terrorist conspiracies, without resorting to "investigative hearings" that compel testimony or "preventive arrests" that seek to detain or restrain terror suspects without charge.

Liberal MP Roy Cullen (Etobicoke North) said yesterday that to win Liberal support for those provisions, the Conservatives need to make improvements in other areas of the anti-terror laws.

The national security certificate program was used to jail non-Canadians deemed threats to national security pending their deportation. It suffered a blow in February when the Supreme Court of Canada condemned the practice of presenting evidence behind closed doors, with no lawyer for the accused present, and with only a sketchy summary of the allegations made public. It gave Parliament 12 months to abolish the use of secret hearings as they now exist.

The Liberals, Bloc and NDP have supported the idea of a special advocate who would see secret evidence that is currently withheld from a terror suspect and his lawyers.

Day also said yesterday the government will give Parliament stronger oversight powers for Canada's intelligence and security agencies.

"This is a monumental change, one that's necessary and one that we want to see," Day said. "Finishing touches are being put on it."

He indicated the government will create new reporting mechanisms for national security and intelligence agencies, including a duty to report to a parliamentary oversight committee.

The move to expand CSIS' role to include foreign intelligence gathering is a retreat from the Tories' campaign pledge to create a separate foreign intelligence agency, and a major step for CSIS, which is focused mainly on domestic intelligence.

Day told the Commons committee the government has chosen to expand the CSIS mandate instead of creating another agency to save costs, time and avoid future conflicts over information-sharing.

It is not clear when the government will move on these fronts.

Day said his hope would be to bring in the measures "very soon," possibly in the next four weeks before the Commons rises for its summer break.

Day's plan to expand CSIS' mandate – to give it the kind of powers now enjoyed by the CIA in the United States, or MI-6 in Britain – comes as a Senate committee is in the midst of studying the issue.

CSIS director Jim Judd testified two weeks ago that CSIS has about 50 intelligence officers stationed overseas, mostly as liaison officers to foreign agencies in some 30 countries. Most of its 2,600 employees are stationed permanently in Canada.

CSIS agents work covertly in Afghanistan to support Canadian armed forces there, an d have occasionally deployed abroad "when the safety and security of Canadians has been affected," such as during the Israeli-Lebanese war last summer, and during a hostage-taking of humanitarian aid workers in Iraq 15 months ago, Judd said.

He said domestic intelligence operations are done under political oversight, court oversight, external review oversight, "whereas if you are engaged in foreign espionage outside of the country, chances are you are breaking someone's laws – not your own, but probably your host country."

Judd was blunt about CSIS' current efforts.

"To cut to the chase, in terms of conducting what is normally referred to as `human intelligence collection' overseas regarding the political, economic or other activities of foreign governments, we do not do that. Most of our allies do that and have been doing it for a long time."

The Canadian government does collect some foreign intelligence through the normal activities of its diplomats overseas, and through the foreign electronic signal interception done by the top-secret Communications Security Establishment.

Overall, more oversight by accountable politicians of the dozen various agencies and departments that have some role in national security and intelligence has long been called for by all parties and committees that have studied the issue.

"It's just not acceptable that it's taken this long," said the NDP's Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh). "The crying need for a parliamentary oversight committee is just so apparent and further delay is really unconscionable."