Backgrounder
In 2021, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) launched a comprehensive review of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) Human Source Program. This review was part of a broader, three-part series focused on how federal agencies manage and use human sources in national security operations. The other reviews in the series looked at the Canada Border Services Agency and the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces. While NSIRA had previously assessed aspects of the RCMP’s work, this was the agency’s first in-depth and targeted review of the RCMP’s human source program.
The review examined the legal and policy frameworks guiding the RCMP’s use of human sources — individuals who provide vital information that can be difficult or impossible to obtain through other means. It focused on three key areas:
- The management and assessment of risk.
- The RCMP’s fulfillment of its duty of care to human sources.
- The sufficiency of ministerial direction and accountability mechanisms.
Human sources, including police agents and confidential informants, play an essential role in national security investigations. Proper management, risk mitigation, and oversight of these programs are critical to ensuring investigations are conducted lawfully, ethically, and effectively.
The review identified areas of concern, particularly regarding the recruitment and use of confidential informants. NSIRA found that:
- The policies and procedures governing the recruitment and use of human sources in national security matters require updates. Reporting requirements and oversight mechanisms were found to be in need of improvement to ensure accountability and consistency.
- The risk assessment framework for confidential informants is inadequate. Current assessments of risk are not well documented, limiting their reliability for decision-making purposes. The RCMP’s approach is primarily focused on operational security and investigative risks, with less attention paid to risks faced by the confidential informants themselves.
- The RCMP places significant reliance on the promise of confidentiality to mitigate risks, without fully accounting for other safeguards that may be necessary.
The review also highlighted shortcomings in how the RCMP handles investigations involving Canadian Fundamental Institutions — including, academia, politics, religion, the media, and trade unions. Despite a 2003 Ministerial Direction requiring “special care” in such sensitive investigations, NSIRA found the RCMP has not consistently demonstrated this level of care. Moreover, there is currently no framework in place to assess the cumulative impact of these investigations on individuals, institutions, or communities.
To address these issues, NSIRA issued six recommendations aimed at improving oversight, strengthening the management and assessment of risk, enhancing the duty of care to confidential informants, and better accounting for the impact of national security investigations involving Canadian Fundamental Institutions.