Date of Publishing:
Executive Summary
The review examines the departmental implementation of the Directions issued pursuant to the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (“ACA” or “the Act”) for the 2024 calendar year.
In this context, NSIRA reviewed the annual ACA reports of the twelve departments and agencies (“the Departments”) that are subject to the Directions. NSIRA also reviewed the Departments’ governance frameworks and policy documents, as well as other records obtained through requests for information, including narrative responses.
NSIRA made findings related to the Departments’ compliance with the reporting requirements contained at sections 7 and 8 of the ACA and related to the representations made by the Departments in their annual ACA reports.
When comparing the Departments’ annual ACA reports with the responses that they provided further to requests for information, NSIRA noted inconsistencies relating to the level of interdepartmental engagement for implementing the Directions and to the use of caveats when disclosing information to foreign entities.
List of Abbreviations
ACA: Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act
CBSA: Canada Border Services Agency
CRA: Canada Revenue Agency
CSIS: Canadian Security Intelligence Service
CSE: Communications Security Establishment
DFO: Department of Fisheries and Oceans
DND/CAF: Department of National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
FINTRAC: Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
GAC: Global Affairs Canada
IRCC: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
ISCG: Information Sharing Coordination Group
NSIRA: National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
PS: Public Safety Canada
RCMP: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
RFI: Request for information
TC: Transport Canada
Glossary of Terms
Directions: Order in Council Directions issued in 2019 to CBSA, CRA, CSIS, CSE, DFO, DND/CAF, FINTRAC, GAC, IRCC, Public Safety, the RCMP and TC regarding avoiding complicity in mistreatment by foreign entities.
Assurance: A foreign entity’s formal or informal commitment to comply with certain conditions or standards, such as respect for human rights.
Caveat: Statement stipulating the specific conditions of an information exchange, such as who may access the information and how it may be used.
Departments: In the context of this review, refers to the departments and agencies whose deputy heads have been issued written directions under the ACA.
Mistreatment: As defined at section 2 of the ACA: “torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, within the meaning of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, signed at New York on December 10, 1984.”
I. Introduction
Authority
The review was conducted pursuant to paragraphs 8(1)(a), 8(1)(b), and subsection 8(2.2) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (“NSIRA Act”).
Scope of the Review
The review examines the departmental implementation of the Directions issued pursuant to the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (“ACA” or “the Act”) for the 2024 calendar year.
The review includes all departments and agencies (“the Departments”) that were issued Directions, pursuant to the ACA, in September 2019: the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA); the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS); the Communications Security Establishment (CSE); the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO); the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF); the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC); Global Affairs Canada (GAC); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); Public Safety Canada (PS); the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); and Transport Canada (TC).
NSIRA wishes to acknowledge the efforts of departments in responding to RFIs for this review and the comprehensiveness of the answers provided. Portions of this information, as well as the upcoming response to the study NSIRA directed various departments to undertake on information sharing with foreign entities engaged in armed conflict, may be assessed for future review.
Methodology
NSIRA reviewed all twelve Departments’ annual ACA reports provided in accordance with subsection 8(1) of the ACA.
NSIRA also reviewed the Departments’ governance frameworks and policy documents, as well as other records obtained through requests for information, including narrative responses.
Review Statements
The NSIRA Act grants NSIRA rights of timely access to any information in the possession or under the control of a department (except for Cabinet confidences) and to receive from the department any documents and explanations NSIRA deems necessary. NSIRA monitors cooperation with access requests, including the completeness and accuracy of disclosures, which informs its overall assessment of a department’s responsiveness in each review.
All Departments met NSIRA’s expectations for responsiveness during this review.
II. Background
The ACA came into force in July 2019. Two months later, in September 2019, pursuant to the ACA, Directions were issued by Order in Council to the deputy heads of the twelve Departments identified at paragraph 3 of this report. For six of these Departments, the Directions replaced Ministerial Directions that had been issued in 2017.
The ACA and the Directions seek to prevent the Government of Canada from disclosing information to – or requesting information from – a foreign entity that would result in substantial risk of mistreatment of an individual, and to set limitations on the use of information that is likely to have been obtained through mistreatment. The ACA and the Directions reflect the Government of Canada’s commitment to human rights as well as Canada’s obligations under a number of international agreements, including the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Pursuant to subsections 8(2.2) and (3) of the NSIRA Act, NSIRA is required to review the implementation of all Directions issued under the ACA each calendar year and may make any finding or recommendation that it considers appropriate, including findings and recommendations relating to a department’s compliance with the law and any applicable ministerial directions and the reasonableness and necessity of a department’s exercise of its powers. This is NSIRA’s sixth such review.
III. Findings, Analysis, and Recommendations
Legislative Requirements
Finding 1. NSIRA found that all twelve Departments submitted their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers, as required by subsection 7(1) of the ACA.
Finding 2. NSIRA found that IRCC and GAC did not submit their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers within the timeframe required by the Act, which may not have been in compliance with subsection 7(1) of the ACA.
Pursuant to subsection 7(1) of the ACA, “Every deputy head to whom directions have been issued […] must, before March 1 of each year, submit to the appropriate Minister a report in respect of the implementation of those directions during the previous calendar year.”
All twelve Departments fulfilled their obligations to submit a copy of their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers. IRCC and GAC, however, submitted their reports shortly after the deadline provided for in the Act. IRCC submitted its report to the Minister of IRCC on March 3, 2025, which amounted to two days later than required. GAC submitted its report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on March 4, 2025, which amounted to 3 days later than required. As a result, IRCC and GAC may not have been in compliance with the ACA.
Finding 3. NSIRA found that, from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, no matters regarding the disclosure of, or request for, information were referred to a deputy head for determination pursuant to the Directions.
Finding 4. NSIRA found that no uses of information were authorized by a deputy head or by a senior official pursuant to paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Directions.
Further to subsections 1(1) and 2(1) of the Directions, if the disclosure of information to, or the request of information from, a foreign entity would result in a substantial risk of mistreatment of an individual, the information must not be disclosed, or requested, unless the risk can be mitigated and appropriate measures are taken to mitigate the risk. If officials are unable to determine whether the risk can be mitigated, the matter must be referred to the deputy head for determination, pursuant to subsections 1(2) and 2(2).
Further to paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Directions, information that is likely to have been obtained through the mistreatment of an individual by a foreign entity must not be used in any way that deprives someone of their rights or freedoms, unless the deputy head or, in exceptional circumstances, a senior official designated by the deputy head determines that the use of the information is necessary to prevent loss of life or significant personal injury and authorizes the use accordingly.
NSIRA found that this was the sixth consecutive year in which no matters regarding the disclosure of, or request for, information were referred to a deputy head for determination and in which no uses of information were authorized by a deputy head or by a senior official.
Representations Made by the Departments in their Annual ACA Reports
Finding 5. NSIRA found that the representations made by the Departments in their annual ACA reports to the Minister on departmental coordination and caveats, occasionally lacked context and were, at times, inconsistent with the responses that the Departments provided to NSIRA requests for information.
NSIRA expects that the information contained in the Departments’ annual ACA reports to the Minister will be comprehensive, accurate and properly contextualized. NSIRA further expects that this information will be consistent with the responses that the Departments provide to NSIRA requests for information.
When comparing the Departments’ annual ACA reports with the responses that they provided further to requests for information, NSIRA noted inconsistencies relating to the level of interdepartmental engagement for implementing the Directions and to the use of caveats when disclosing information to foreign entities. This lack of accuracy and proper contextualization does not amount to non-compliance with the ACA, but nevertheless is concerning.
Interdepartmental Engagement
NSIRA observed that the majority of the annual ACA reports discussed the Departments’ collective efforts to support a consistent, intergovernmental approach to the implementation of the Directions. Nine reports contained a section dedicated to “interdepartmental coordination,” “collaboration” or “cooperation.”
In addition, eleven of the twelve reports mentioned the Information Sharing Coordination Group (ISCG). The ISCG is an interdepartmental forum, chaired by PS, which is comprised of all Departments subject to the Directions. Its stated objectives are to share information, establish best practices, and coordinate the development of policy documents and responses to interdepartmental issues.
In their annual ACA reports, CSIS and the CBSA described the ISCG as “the primary interdepartmental forum” for supporting collaboration and information-sharing between the Departments. The CRA, which was one of three Departments to describe itself as an “active participant” in the ISCG, explained that “ISCG members work to ensure their respective Directions are implemented consistently across all implicated federal departments and agencies.” PS’ annual ACA report indicated that, “[t]hroughout 2024, the ISCG held a number of discussions on various topics […].”
The annual ACA reports of four Departments – CSE, CSIS, DND/CAF and GAC – also discussed an annual event known as the Human Rights Summit, which brings together select members of the ISCG to discuss their respective methodologies for producing human rights assessments of- and establishing risk ratings for-foreign countries and foreign entities.
Nearly all departments spoke about the ISCG in their reports (with the exception of TC), and the majority had a section in the annual reports dedicated to collaboration and coordination with other government departments.
NSIRA found that the level of interdepartmental engagement described in the annual ACA reports and, in particular, the use and impact of the ISCG as a forum for supporting collaboration and information-sharing between the Departments – was not properly contextualized leading to overstatement and was inconsistent with the responses that NSIRA received from the Departments further to requests for information. The importance of the ISCG was often overemphasized in the annual reports, compared with information on actual engagement levels provided to NSIRA.
When NSIRA asked the Departments whether they share through the ISCG or otherwise-information such as country or entity profiles, assessments, risk rating, and non-compliance with assurances or caveats with other Government of Canada departments, the majority replied in the negative or indicated that certain questions did not apply to their particular circumstances. Furthermore, contrary to the representations it made in paragraph 20 of its annual ACA report, PS explained that, “[i]n 2024, the ISCG met in person once in July 25, 2025.” According to PS, no meeting minutes were formally prepared for the meeting, during which the Departments discussed the interdepartmental response to NSIRA’s 2022 ACA review.
Use of Caveats
In its annual ACA report, PS indicated that it “continues to include disclaimers and caveats with information it discloses to [**redacted**] includes the following caveat:””PS noted that, ‘to date, communication with [**redacted**] This document contains sensitive information that is controlled under [**redacted**]. This information is only intended to be used for the purposes of [**redacted**] or a use consistent with these purposes in accordance with section IV of the Arrangement. This document is not to be reclassified, copied, reproduced, used in whole or in part or further disseminated, without the consent of the originator or in accordance with section IV and V of the Arrangement.’”
These passages from PS’ annual ACA report were inconsistent with initial answers that PS provided to NSIRA in the context of requests for information. For example, PS answered “Not applicable,” when asked whether it uses caveats as a mitigation measure when sharing information with foreign countries or foreign entities. More concretely, and in sharp contrast with the information found in its annual ACA report, PS also told NSIRA that it did not use caveats when disclosing information to [**redacted**] entities between January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
Subsequently, PS has clarified to NSIRA that PS does not use specific or case-by-case caveats or disclaimers when sharing or disclosing information to [**redacted**] but does include the generic caveat reproduced above. This does not change NSIRA’s conclusion that PS fell short of the expected transparency in its reporting to the Minister.
Recommendation 1. NSIRA recommends that the Departments ensure that the information on caveats and interdepartmental coordination contained in their annual ACA reports be comprehensive and properly contextualized.
IV. Conclusion
This was NSIRA’s sixth review of the departmental implementation of the Directions issued pursuant to the ACA. In this review, NSIRA made findings related to the Departments’ compliance with the reporting requirements contained at sections 7 and 8 of the ACA and related to the representations made by the Departments in their annual ACA reports.
NSIRA found that, though all twelve Departments submitted their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers as required by subsection 7(1) of the ACA, IRCC and GAC did not do so within the timeframe required by the Act.
NSIRA found that, for the sixth consecutive year, no matters regarding the disclosure of, or request for, information were referred to a deputy head for determination and no uses of information were authorized by a deputy head or by a senior official.
Finally, NSIRA found that the representations made by the Departments in their annual ACA reports occasionally lacked context and were, at times, inconsistent with the responses that the Departments provided to NSIRA requests for information. NSIRA reiterates its recommendation that the Departments ensure that the information contained in their annual ACA reports be comprehensive, accurate and properly contextualized.
Annex A. Findings and Recommendations
NSIRA made the following findings and recommendations in this review:
Legislative Requirements
Finding 1. NSIRA found that all twelve Departments submitted their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers, as required by subsection 7(1) of the ACA.
Finding 2. NSIRA found that IRCC and GAC did not submit their annual ACA reports to their respective Ministers within the timeframe required by the Act, which may not have been in compliance with subsection 7(1) of the ACA.
Finding 3. NSIRA found that, from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, no matters regarding the disclosure of, or request for, information were referred to a deputy head for determination pursuant to the Directions.
Finding 4. NSIRA found that no uses of information were authorized by a deputy head or by a senior official pursuant to paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Directions.
Representations Made by the Departments in their Annual ACA Reports
Finding 5. NSIRA found that the representations made by the Departments in their annual ACA reports to the Minister on departmental coordination and caveats, occasionally lacked context and were, at times, inconsistent with the responses that the Departments provided to NSIRA requests for information.
Recommendation 1. NSIRA recommends that the Departments ensure that the information on caveats and interdepartmental coordination contained in their annual ACA reports be comprehensive and properly contextualized.
