Backgrounder

Ottawa, Ontario, October 7, 2022 – The third Annual Report of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) was tabled in Parliament today, October 7, 2022.

NSIRA’s 2021 Annual Report focuses on our progress and activities in our second full year of operation. During this time, we pursued the reform of our processes and methods for doing review and investigations, both of which helped us improve the consistency and efficiency of our work.

This report highlights key findings and recommendations. The report also presents our intention to use future annual reports to publicly assess and track the implementation of previous recommendations, in accordance with our continued commitment to transparency and public engagement. Review highlights include:

• Four reviews of important areas of CSIS activities, notably CSIS threat reduction measures (TRMs) and technical capabilities, as well as the manner in which CSIS seeks and receives legal service from de Department of Justice and prepares and executes the warrants it needs to collect information. An annual compliance review of CSIS’s activities was also completed;
• CSE activities, notably CSE’s governance framework that guides the conduct of active and defensive cyber operations, internal information sharing, and CSE disclosures of Canadian-identifying information (CII);
• DND/CAF Defense Intelligence Enterprise and a follow-up review of the Canadian Forces National Counter-Intelligence Unit;
• Two specifically mandated multi-departmental reviews with respect to the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act and sharing of information within the federal government under the Security of Canada Information Disclosure Act; and,
• One multi-departmental review relating to the collection and use of biometrics in the “border continuum”.

In 2021, NSIRA saw its complaints investigation caseload increase significantly as a result of 58 complaints referred to NSIRA by the Canadian Human Rights Commission pursuant to subsection 45(2) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. NSIRA also completed its investigation process reform initiative after consultation with multiple stakeholders. NSIRA investigations under this new model are already showing improved efficiency.

NSIRA’s 2021 Annual Report also discusses our organization’s underlining goals and values, and highlights how the organization continued to grow in size and capacity throughout the year, and sought to enhance its technical and subject-matter expertise.