Date of Publishing:
NSIRA’s Letter to the Minister
Dear Minister LeBlanc,
I am writing on behalf of the Members of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) to inform you that NSIRA has initiated a review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s (CSIS) Justification Framework.
This review is being conducted pursuant to paragraph 8(1)(b) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (NSIRA Act). 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.
This review will assess the extent to which the CSIS Justification Framework complies with the law and is reasonable and necessary. It will explore the lifecycle of the Framework including its use by CSIS to support its intelligence and information collection mandate; the suitability of relevant mechanisms for accountability, such as CSIS’ internal policy, guidance, and training; and the Department of Public Safety’s role in supporting the annual determination of the classes of acts or omissions, and the designation of employees and senior employees who will carry out operations under the Framework. The findings and recommendations made during this review may also help to inform Parliament’s expected examination of the National Security Act, 2017.
NSIRA will engage with your officials regarding this review. As the review progresses, NSIRA’s review team will be in regular contact with them with requests for information. Such requests may involve documents, system access, written explanations, briefings, interviews, surveys, and any other information that NSIRA determines to be of relevance to this review. This review may also include independent inspections of some technical systems. NSIRA’s expectations for responsiveness are available online at https://nsira-ossnr.gc.ca.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support to the independent review process, which is key to transparency and democratic accountability.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Marie Deschamps, C.C.
Chair, National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
