9/11 The Unfinished Battle
Phil Gurski | Sheryl Saperia | Ches Parsons
MP, Shuvaloy Majumdar
RSVP & Ticket
Fireside Chat and Audience Q and A, featuring Phil Gurski and Sheryl Saperia on Terrorism in Canada, then and now.
Publisher, Dean Baxendale with be your MC and convenes the national security panel and audience Q and A
Guests are invited to an interactive evening featuring author Phil Gurski in a fireside chat with Sheryl Saperia, Senior Fellow, MacDonald Laurier Institute and security expert. Phil is a former CSIS counterintelligence analyst and intelligence practitioner whose new book 9/11, The Unfinished Battle addresses why Jihadis terrorism is deeper, wider and far from over. He also worked on counterterrorism and Iran desk during his tenure at CSIS.
Also joining our panel discussion will be Ches Parsons a former Assistant Commissioner with the RCMP and national security expert.
About the Event
Twenty-five years after 9/11, is Canada prepared to confront today’s threats—and what must change for us to become a more capable and dependable security partner?
Drawing on his experience at both CSE and CSIS, Phil Gurski will use the legacy of the September 11 attacks to open a broader discussion at Toronto’s Albany Club about Canada’s national security culture and preparedness.
The panel will examine whether Canada has allowed institutional knowledge, operational capacity and threat awareness to deteriorate while terrorism—including terrorism backed by states—foreign interference, transnational repression, organised crime and economic subversion have continued to evolve.
The discussion will address three connected questions:
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How does Canada’s national security preparedness affect continental economic security?
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What does our performance mean for Canada’s credibility with the United States, our Five Eyes partners and other allies?
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What practical steps must Canada take to become a more capable and dependable security partner?
The evening will challenge us to consider whether Canada’s institutions, political leadership and public understand the threats we face—and are prepared to act.
The central argument is that Canada has allowed institutional knowledge, operational capacity and threat awareness to deteriorate while terrorism, foreign interference, transnational repression, organized crime and economic subversion have continued to evolve.
A possible overarching question now worth considering as we take to the stage at the Albany club.
The gap between policy, planning and operational execution has become a serious concern in Ottawa’s national security circles. Foreign interference, transnational repression and economic subversion continue to expand, yet Canada’s political response has too often been weak, shaped by ideological assumptions and vulnerable to influence from the very adversaries we must confront.
Topics for discussion include:
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National security across governments: Do federal, provincial and municipal governments understand their responsibilities, and are they prepared to fulfil them?
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Economic security and allied cooperation: What is national economic security, and how should it shape our trade, investment and defence relationships with partners and allies?
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Terrorist financing and organised crime: What are governments, banks and financial regulators doing to disrupt criminal networks that finance terrorism or act as proxies for malign states?
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Preparedness for interconnected threats: Are we equipped to address terrorism, espionage, border and Arctic security, and vulnerabilities in our defence industrial supply chains?
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Policy that translates into action: How do we develop laws and policies that connect defence, policing, intelligence and economic security—and give institutions the capacity to respond?
Event format
Fireside Chat with author Phil Gurski with Sheryl Saperia and then Publisher Dean Baxendale will moderate a panel discussion featuring Gurski, Sheryl Saperia and Ches Parsons and Shavaloy Majumdar. This will include audience Q&A. Using the legacy of 9/11 as a starting point, the evening will examine Canada’s preparedness and the practical changes needed to turn national security commitments into operational results today.
Event format
Registration and Reception 6:-00 to 6:30 Charcuterie and hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Opening Remarks 6:30 to 6:35
Fireside Chat 6:35 to 7:05 Jihadi Terrorism, The threat is greater than you think
Panel Discussion 7:05 to 7: 50 Does Canada’s national security culture need to change.
Closing Remarks: 7:50 Mingle, book signing and engage with panelists.
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Phil Gurski, PHd Author Phil Gurski, Former Senior CSIS analyst.
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Sheryl Saperia, CEO Pearl Strategic Counsel, Lawyer and national security policy strategist.
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Ches Parsons, COO Pearl Strategic Counsel and former a former Deputy Commissioner with the RCMP
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Dean Baxendale, MC CEO, Optimum Publishing International & China Democracy Fund and Policy advisor on economic security and China
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Special Guest to be Confirmed
Speaker BIOS
Phil Gurski
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting. He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2013, specialising in jihadi radicalisation and terrorism. From 1983 to 2001 he was employed as a senior multilingual analyst at Communications Security Establishment, specializing in the Middle East. He also served as senior special advisor in the National Security Directorate at Public Safety Canada from 2013 until his retirement from the civil service in May 2015, and as consultant for the Ontario Provincial Police’s Anti-Terrorism Section (PATS) in 2015.
Ches W. Parsons
Ches Parsons served more than thirty-five years with the RCMP, rising to Assistant Commissioner. He was Commanding Officer of two RCMP Divisions: a full provincial command, and National Division in Ottawa, which was responsible for protective operations and investigations sensitive to Canada's national interests. He also served as Director General of National Security, and spent seventeen years in counter-terrorism and counter-espionage. He has been qualified as an expert witness before the Federal Court of Canada. He is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Pearl Strategic Counsel.
Sheryl Saperia
Sheryl Saperia is co-founder and CEO of Pearl Strategic Counsel. She is a lawyer and national security policy strategist. She has drafted federal legislation that was successfully passed into law, and has held leadership positions in public policy, advocacy, philanthropy and government relations. She is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, publishes frequently, and is a sought-after public speaker. Sheryl is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contributions to Canada.
SPECIAL GUEST, Shuvaloy Majumdar
Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Heritage. Conservative Shadow Minister for Canada-U.S. Relations (appointed June 30, 2026), focusing on trade disputes, tariffs, and cross-border negotiations under the official opposition House of Commons Roles.
Dean Baxendale
Dean Baxendale is CEO and Publisher of Optimum Publishing International and CEO of the China Democracy Fund. A publisher, columnist and human rights advocate, his work focuses on national security, foreign interference, transnational organised crime and economic subversion. He works with intelligence professionals, investigative journalists and policy experts to bring these issues into public debate. Through his publishing and commentary, he examines how threats to democratic institutions and human rights intersect with Canada’s economic interests and its responsibilities as an allied security partner.
RSVP: https://optimumpublishinginternational.com/books/p/911-the-unfinished-battle-and-national-security-discussion
