Letter to Chair of Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
Date of Publishing:
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, P.C., M.P.
Chair
Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
House of Commons
Dear Mr. Chair,
On behalf of the members of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA or Agency), I am pleased to share with the Committee NSIRA’s observations and recommendations regarding potential opportunities to further strengthen its legislative framework and governance structure.
As an independent review body, NSIRA’s role is to provide trusted, impartial review of national security and intelligence activities across the Government of Canada. Through its experience carrying out this mandate over the past six years, NSIRA has gained valuable operational insight into the authorities, structures, and processes that support effective independent review.
On July 12, 2019, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (“The NSIRA Act”) came into force, establishing NSIRA with a mandate to investigate public complaints and review national security and intelligence activities. At the time of NSIRA’s inception, it was recognized that NSIRA’s structure and legislative framework would need to be assessed over time to ensure it continued to effectively support its mandate in a changing national security and intelligence environment. In this regard, Bill C-59, An Act Respecting National Security Matters, included provisions for a mandatory review of the legislation.
As Parliament considers the future evolution of the NSIRA Act, the Agency is sharing these recommendations proactively, drawing on its experience delivering on its mandate and on practices adopted by international counterparts. The national security and intelligence landscape continues to evolve, and maintaining effective independent review requires ensuring that the appropriate authorities, tools, and governance structures are in place to support timely and comprehensive reviews.
Attached is an infographic outlining NSIRA’s observations and proposed amendments for the Committee’s consideration. These recommendations are intended to provide practical insights and support informed discussion on ways to continue strengthening Canada’s national security and intelligence accountability framework.
NSIRA recognizes the important role of Parliament in examining and considering matters related to national security and intelligence, including the important work of the Committee in this area. NSIRA appreciates the Committee’s consideration of these observations and welcomes the opportunity to provide its perspective in support of informed discussions on the continued evolution of Canada’s national security and intelligence accountability framework.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C.
Chair, National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
cc Andrew Wilson, Clerk, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
Letter to the Chair of the Standing Committee on National Security Defence and Veteran Affairs
Date of Publishing:
The Honourable Marty Deacon
Chair
Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veteran Affairs
Senate of Canada
Dear Madam Chair:
On behalf of the members of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA or Agency), I am pleased to share with the Committee NSIRA’s observations and recommendations regarding potential opportunities to further strengthen its legislative framework and governance structure.
As an independent expert review body, NSIRA’s role is to provide trusted, impartial review of national security and intelligence activities across the Government of Canada. Through its experience carrying out this mandate over the past six years, NSIRA has gained valuable operational insight into the authorities, structures, and processes that support effective independent review.
On July 12, 2019, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (“The NSIRA Act”) came into force, establishing NSIRA with a mandate to investigate public complaints and review national security and intelligence activities. At the time of NSIRA’s inception, it was recognized that NSIRA’s structure and legislative framework would need to be assessed over time to ensure it continued to effectively support its mandate in a changing national security and intelligence environment. In this regard, Bill C-59, An Act Respecting National Security Matters, included provisions for a mandatory review of the legislation.
As Parliament considers the future evolution of the NSIRA Act, the Agency is sharing these recommendations proactively, drawing on its experience delivering on its mandate and on practices adopted by international counterparts. The national security and intelligence landscape continues to evolve, and maintaining effective independent review requires ensuring that the appropriate authorities, tools, and governance structures are in place to support timely and comprehensive reviews.
Attached is an infographic outlining NSIRA’s observations and proposed amendments for the Committee’s consideration. These recommendations are intended to provide practical insights and support informed discussion on ways to continue strengthening Canada’s national security and intelligence accountability framework.
NSIRA recognizes the important role of Parliament in examining and considering matters related to national security and intelligence, including the important work of the Committee in this area. NSIRA appreciates the Committee’s consideration of these observations and welcomes the opportunity to provide its perspective in support of informed discussions on the continued evolution of Canada’s national security and intelligence accountability framework.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C.
Chair, National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
cc Ericka Paajanen, Clerk, Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs
Strengthening oversight and accountability: Modernizing NSIRA for today’s national security and intelligence environment
A new governance model
The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) must have the independence, authority, and tools required to keep pace with modern national security and intelligence activities and keep those with power accountable. At the time of NSIRA’s inception, it was recognized by the government of the day that the structure of NSIRA may need to evolve over time. Five years of operations have shown that NSIRA’s structure and legislative framework now require modernization. NSIRA is proposing a set of targeted statutory amendments and a new governance model to enhance the degree to which national security and intelligence activities across government remain subject to rigorous, independent scrutiny.
NSIRA as an Agent of Parliament
NSIRA is proposing to replace its current multi-member structure with a single, fully independent Review Commissioner who reports directly to Parliament, similar to the Auditor General or the Privacy Commissioner, and who oversees a unitary institution.
1
Create a new independent office
A new position – the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Commissioner (Review Commissioner) – would be created as an Officer of Parliament. They would report directly to Parliament, not through the government of the day, strengthening independence. A Deputy Commissioner would be appointed to support the Review Commissioner. Both roles would have fixed terms and the appointees would hold office on a full time basis and during good behaviour to protect their independence.
2
Merge NSIRA’s member-based leadership and secretariat into one unified office
Instead of having separate membership and secretariat structures, all functions and structures would be consolidated under the Review Commissioner into one office of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Commissioner, with the Review Commissioner as Deputy Head and employer. This would create congruence in the assignment of authorities, mandate responsibilities and accountabilities, and align NSIRA with several of its close partner review or oversight bodies.
3
Replace part-time members with decision-makers appointed by the Review Commissioner
Instead of part-time members appointed by the Governor in Council, the Review Commissioner would be able to appoint staff as decision-makers, ensuring greater agility in calibrating resources to the increasing demands of review work and complaint investigations.
4
Ensure independence in the allocation of the Review Commissioner’s funding
The Review Commissioner would prepare their own budget, which would be submitted directly to Parliament for approval, mirroring the funding process of some other Officers of Parliament and strengthening independence from government.
Strengthening NSIRA’s mandate
NSIRA is proposing several reforms to its Act to ensure that it can function as intended, including the following key elements:
1
Immunity and non-compellability clauses: Create new protections for the organization and its staff to ensure they can do the work independently and unimpeded by risks of being brought into parallel external litigation proceedings.
2
Clarify NSIRA’s review publication expectations: Address explicitly NSIRA’s authority to release declassified versions of its review reports, thus promoting transparency and public engagement while safeguarding national security.
3
Power to compel information across all mandates: Extend NSIRA’s investigatory power to compel individuals to share documents, evidence, and testimony to its review mandate, ensuring the Agency can fully and effectively conduct reviews across government.
4
Time limit to file complaints: Introduce a time limit for filing complaints, thus aligning with other complaint-based recourse mechanisms across government to ensure more efficient service delivery.
5
Explicit manner of access rights: Clarify NSIRA’s ability to determine the manner by which it implements its right to access information, such as the right to enter government buildings, access databases and IT systems, interview public servants privately, and conduct on-site inspections.
