{"id":14146,"date":"2026-01-14T14:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nsira-ossnr.gc.ca\/investigations\/investigation-summaries\/allegations-against-csiss-role-in-cancellation-denial-of-site-access-clearance\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T21:21:39","slug":"allegations-against-csiss-role-in-cancellation-denial-of-site-access-clearance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nsira-ossnr.gc.ca\/en\/investigations\/investigation-summaries\/allegations-against-csiss-role-in-cancellation-denial-of-site-access-clearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Allegations against CSIS\u2019s role in cancellation\/denial of site access clearance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Allegations against CSIS\u2019s role in cancellation\/denial of site access clearance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Background\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Complainant filed a complaint against CSIS requesting an investigation of CSIS\u2019s\u00a0role or involvement in the cancellation and\/or denial of site access screening requests\u00a0for employment with a private company at a government building.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allegation\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Complainant alleged CSIS improperly used information collected and made an\u00a0improper inference of a security threat which led to the denial of a site access\u00a0clearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigation\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

NSIRA considered the evidence given by summoned witnesses, the documentation\u00a0submitted by the parties as well as other relevant material made available during the\u00a0course of the investigation of the complaint, including classified documents disclosed\u00a0to NSIRA by CSIS. NSIRA also heard evidence provided by the Complainant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sections 13 and 15 of the CSIS Act give CSIS the authority to provide security\u00a0assessments to departments of the Government of Canada and to conduct\u00a0investigations as required. CSIS receives applications from government departments\u00a0for persons seeking a security clearance or site access clearance and their role is\u00a0defined in section 2 of the CSIS Act. CSIS presented evidence on the steps that are\u00a0followed in CSIS\u2019s process, the Treasury Board Secretariat\u2019s Standard on Security\u00a0Screening, and the fact that the client department decides whether to grant a\u00a0clearance. As such, CSIS only provides background information and an assessment\u00a0from a national security perspective so that government departments have the\u00a0information it needs to make an informed decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NSIRA also heard evidence from CSIS with respect to some information shared with\u00a0the client department that requested the site access clearance and how it pertained to\u00a0both reliability and loyalty. CSIS acknowledged that some information shared with the\u00a0client department took place in an informal setting and that it should not have\u00a0occurred in such way. It was noted that after\u00a0open source\u00a0information was shared, the\u00a0client department cancelled its request and CSIS closed its file.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Complainant expressed a belief that CSIS was responsible for denying his\u00a0application for a site access clearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NSIRA acknowledged the Complainant\u2019s perception that CSIS denied his request for a\u00a0site access clearance, but the evidence demonstrated that CSIS did not make the\u00a0decision. The decision was made by the government department and CSIS had no\u00a0further involvement in the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Findings\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

NSIRA found that:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 CSIS did not improperly use the open source information that was shared; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 CSIS acknowledges that the sharing of information would not have been approved\u00a0by management; and\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 CSIS did not deny the Complainant\u2019s request for a site access clearance, but\u00a0rather it was the government department that made the decision to cancel the\u00a0request.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

NSIRA determined that the complaint is unsupported.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":7790,"menu_order":31,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-nsira-subpages.php","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[],"tags":[44,77],"yoast_head":"\nAllegations against CSIS\u2019s role in cancellation\/denial of site access clearance - National Security and Intelligence Review Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nsira-ossnr.gc.ca\/en\/investigations\/investigation-summaries\/allegations-against-csiss-role-in-cancellation-denial-of-site-access-clearance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Allegations against CSIS\u2019s role in cancellation\/denial of site access clearance - 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