Date of Online Publishing:
Date of Submission:
June 7, 2024
Termination Letter to the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Dear Mr. Vigneault,
On March 7, 2024, NSIRA initiated a review of CSIS’s governance of regional specialized operational support units as well as of the adequacy and accessibility of the Service’s internal complaints process. NSIRA has taken the decision to terminate this review.
As the review was progressing through the scoping phase, NSIRA was informed of multiple ongoing litigation cases on matters related to the same issues NSIRA was planning to examine. The litigation landscape is multifaceted and evolving. Additionally, NSIRA does not currently have explicit statutory protections to provide certainty that its work will not be disclosed, and its personnel and members not compelled to participate in related proceedings. Accordingly, NSIRA decided to terminate its work on this review.
The decision to terminate the review was not taken lightly as NSIRA had already identified issues of concern and had begun planning the review methodology. An important component of NSIRA’s information gathering process included conducting interviews with CSIS employees. NSIRA’s independence includes a statutory right to determine its own procedures in the exercise of its powers or the performance its duties and functions. When confidential interviews are contemplated, NSIRA conducts them in the way it deems appropriate for the objectives of a review.
At the same time, NSIRA is mindful of the context, more specifically, the integrity of reviewees operations and parallel issues. In the case of this file, the current and potential future litigation landscape made this part of the methodology difficult to plan and execute and factored greatly into the decision to terminate the review.
On behalf of NSIRA, we thank your employees for the provision of preliminary documents and for holding briefings with the NSIRA review team.
As stated to your Minister in separate correspondence, NSIRA’s inability to proceed with this important review highlights the urgency and necessity of legislative reforms intended to be a part of the three-year review of the National Security Act, 2017.
Sincerely,
Charles Fugère
Senior General Counsel and Acting Executive Director, National Security and
Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat
Termination Letter to the Public Safety Minister
Dear Minister LeBlanc,
On March 7, 2024, NSIRA initiated a review of CSIS’s governance of regional specialized operational support units as well as of the adequacy and accessibility of the CSIS’s internal complaints process. NSIRA has taken the decision to terminate this review.
As the review was progressing through the scoping phase, NSIRA was informed of multiple ongoing litigation cases on the matters related to the very issues NSIRA was needing to examine. The litigation landscape is multifaceted and evolving. Additionally, NSIRA does not currently have explicit statutory protections to provide certainty that its work will not be disclosed and its personnel and members compelled to participate in related legal proceedings. This statutory gap also creates uncertainty around information that needed to be collected from anticipated confidential interviews. Accordingly, NSIRA decided not to proceed with the review and terminate its work on this matter effective immediately.
The decision to terminate the review was not taken lightly as NSIRA had already identified issues of concern. NSIRA’s inability to proceed with this pertinent review highlights the urgency and necessity of legislative reforms intended to be a part three-year review of the National Security Act, 2017.
NSIRA looks forward to taking part in the three-year review discussions of the National Security Act, 2017, and proposing the amendments required.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C.
Chair, National Security and Intelligence Review Agency