Date of Publishing:
NSIRA’s Notification Letter
Dear Ms. Xavier,
I am writing on behalf of the Members of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) to inform you that NSIRA has initiated its Annual Review of CSE Activities (ARCA) for 2024.
This review is being conducted pursuant to paragraph 8(1)(a) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (NSIRA Act) and will, in part, inform NSIRA’s annual report to the Minister of National Defence a requirement of section 33 of the NSIRA Act.
This review will include information related to CSE’s compliance with the law and ministerial direction, as well as the reasonableness and necessity of CSE’s exercise of its powers. In addition to the annual report to the Minister, this review may identify emerging issues and inform NSIRA’s review planning.
The NSIRA Act grants NSIRA full and timely access to all information held by reviewed departments and agencies, including classified and privileged information, with the exception of cabinet confidences.
The NSIRA review team conducting this review has been identified in the cover email to this letter; they should serve as your officials’ primary point of contact at NSIRA regarding this review. NSIRA’s review team will be in regular contact with CSE’s External Review team with requests for information. These may include requests for documents, system access, written explanations, briefings, interviews, surveys, and other information NSIRA determines to be of relevance to this review. This review may also include independent inspections of some technical systems.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support to the independent review process, which is key to the transparency and accountability we provide to Canadians on behalf of the Government of Canada.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C.
Chair, National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
