Date of Publishing:
NSIRA’s Notification Letter
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 Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) National Security Criminal Investigations.
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.
NSIRA will review the RCMP’s national security program activities as they relate to national security criminal investigations. NSIRA expects to review the techniques used by the RCMP to investigate national security matters and how the RCMP establishes reasonable grounds to investigate. This will include a review of the RCMP’s decision-making and information sharing practices, as well as the policies and procedures utilized in the deconfliction with partners, particularly with Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The review will assess the reasonableness, necessity, and efficacy of the RCMP’s exercise of its mandate in this area.
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
