Executive Group Benchmark - Number: 10-E-1

POSITION TITLE: Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National Security

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Is accountable for providing independent policy advice and support to the Deputy Minister on national security issues, and coordinating national counterterrorism and emergency management exercises designed to enhance the federal government's capacity to respond to threats to national security.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

This is one of six positions at the first managerial level reporting to the Deputy Minister. The others are Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Programs; Assistant Deputy Minister, Policing and Law Enforcement; Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management; Inspector General, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS); and Director and General Counsel, Legal Services.

Specific functions of the positions reporting to the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National Security, are as follows:

Director General, National Security, (staff of 39) is responsible for developing and implementing new policies related to national security, counterterrorism, technology and lawful access; providing strategic advice on national security issues and threats; developing ministerial directions to CSIS; and managing bilateral counterterrorism relations with the United States (US) and trilateral arrangements with the US and the United Kingdom (UK).

Executive Director, Integrated Justice Information Secretariat, (staff of 40) is responsible for providing leadership in and overseeing a major initiative to improve the integration, sharing and management of criminal justice information among components of the national criminal justice system and to support the development of the Canada Public Safety Information Network (CPSIN) and interoperability among portfolio agencies and the larger public safety community.

NATURE AND SCOPE

The Department plays a fundamental role in protecting the safety of Canadians by addressing national security, law enforcement and anti-terrorist weaknesses, as well as the demands for domestic and international cooperation and integration of effort in order to combat terrorism and crime and improve public safety. At the same time, the Department is a strategic and policy-focussed centre that provides advice, policy research and support to the Minister and Deputy Minister to ensure that all Canadians continue to enjoy the benefits of an open society. The Department supports the Minister in providing direction to the portfolio of public safety agencies, boards and committees, including responsibility for emergency preparedness, emergency management, national security, corrections, policing, civilian oversight, crime prevention and border functions, for which the incumbent is accountable to Parliament.

In this context, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National Security, is a key player in providing leadership and direction in response to the demands on the entire national security apparatus to ensure that the Government of Canada has the capacity to protect Canadians and to fulfill international obligations with respect to international terrorism (which are historically unprecedented), international criminality and other national security threats.

Within the constantly evolving global environment of escalating terrorism and other national security threats, the incumbent is called upon to provide crisis management leadership and coordinate the development of immediate and longer-term strategies and plans designed to improve public safety and national capabilities against terrorist attacks and other threats to national security and public safety, and to respond to the expectations of Canada's allies. In meeting this challenge, the incumbent must ensure that all plans, programs and strategies regarding national security, including those involving the police and law enforcement authorities, are continuously reassessed and revised.

A major challenge for the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister is to develop and coordinate the implementation of national strategies designed to improve public safety and to eliminate the gaps and vulnerabilities. The incumbent supports the Minister's national leadership role by developing legislation, policies and plans and providing strategic, long-term and national leadership in national security and counterterrorism, including the development and revision of the National Counter-Terrorism Plan and the Operational Readiness Plan.

As the national expert in national security and counterterrorism, the incumbent chairs the Assistant Deputy Minister Committee on Public Safety, and is heavily involved in the development of partnerships with other departments, other levels of government, non-governmental organizations and other countries. The incumbent liaises with senior officials and counterparts in the US and develops enhanced cooperative arrangements with them, including revising and upgrading the joint operational readiness program.

A further challenge facing the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister is the timely exchange and management of information as a critical component in raising public defences against crime, including terrorism and other forms of international criminality. The cornerstone of Integrated Justice Information (IJI) is the CPSIN, which was initially directed toward ending the fragmentation of critical information throughout the criminal justice system and promoting the exchange and sharing of criminal justice information. The incumbent oversees the expansion of CPSIN beyond its original criminal justice and law enforcement scope in order to promote connectivity among portfolio agencies nationally-to include partners, such as the Department of National Defence, the Passport Office, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada, in the larger public safety network-and internationally, to link with the US and, possibly at a later stage, with the UK and other countries that are advancing the integration of their own systems.

The Senior Assistant Deputy Minster, National Security, is the designated second-in-command to the Deputy Minister and, in this capacity, participates in the regular briefings of the Minister and is the Deputy's alternate at inter-agency strategic and policy meetings and at international negotiations at the Ministerial level. This advice is critical for the Minister because of strong public expectations and pressure concerning the protection of society in relation to the activities of these agencies and their extraordinary powers over individuals in Canadian society. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minster assists the Deputy in the coordination, within the portfolio, of horizontal issues, which cut across organizational lines.

DIMENSIONS (Constant Dollars)

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Provides expert advice and support to the Minister and the Deputy Minister, and makes recommendations on all matters related to national security, counterterrorism, summit security and the sharing and exchange of criminal justice information.
2. Provides leadership in and oversees the development and coordination of strategies to improve public safety and address the gaps and vulnerabilities that exist in the public safety framework, including legislative and policy proposals, plans, program changes and strategies.
3. Provides leadership in and oversees the development of national policies related to national security and counterterrorist strategies, as well as the development of partnerships and cooperative arrangements with other agencies, the provinces and territories, and other countries, to provide a cohesive, unified effort and response to existing and potential threats and improve public safety and security.
4. Promotes an advanced integrated effort, cooperation, and joint initiatives with the US and other partners in the field of anti-terrorism to improve collective protection against terrorist acts, increase the likelihood of detecting and preventing planned terrorist attacks, and fulfill international obligations.
5. Represents the Minister in key international fora concerned with international cooperation on security and the development of countermeasures to combat terrorism, such as the Organization of American States, the European Council on Justice and Home Affairs and the G8.
6. Oversees the development and revision of the National Anti-Terrorist Plan to detect, prevent, protect against and combat terrorist threats and capabilities and improve Canada's state of operational readiness so that it can respond better to terrorist incidents.

EVALUATION RATIONALE

Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National Security

KNOW-HOW

PROBLEM SOLVING / THINKING

ACCOUNTABILITY / DECISION MAKING

SUMMARY

SENIOR ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER NATIONAL SECURITY NUMBER: 10 - E - 1