Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - Security Intelligence Review Committee


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

Section I - Overview

Chair's Message

I am pleased to submit SIRC's Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for 2008-2009.

The coming year may bring several changes. The five-year appointments of two Members expire in 2008 and I am hopeful that their replacements will be named promptly to ensure the orderly functioning of the Committee. In addition, the Government is expected to respond to the recommendations of Mr. Justice O'Connor concerning a new review mechanism for the RCMP and an expanded role for SIRC. Finally, the Committee anticipates that the Government will reintroduce legislation to create a National Security Committee of Parliamentarians.

Regardless of the potential impact of these developments on the Committee, our raison d'être remains unchanged. For almost twenty-five years, SIRC has contributed to the accountability of one of the Government's most powerful organizations. By ensuring that CSIS acts lawfully and effectively while carrying out its mandate to guard against threats to Canada's national security, we help to maintain an appropriate balance between protecting public safety and upholding individual rights. This is our continuing commitment to Parliament and the citizens we serve.

I hope that this RPP provides readers with further insight into SIRC's role in preserving a safe, democratic and law abiding society.

Signature of Gary Filmon
Honourable Gary Filmon, P.C., O.M.
Chair

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2008-2009 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC).

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2008-2009 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities:

  • It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat guidance;
  • It is based on SIRC's strategic outcome and program activities that were approved by the Treasury Board;
  • It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
  • It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
  • It reports finances based on approved planned spending numbers from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Signature of Susan Pollak
Name: Susan Pollak
Title: Executive Director

Raison d'être

The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC or the Committee) is a small, independent review body which reports to Parliament on the operations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS or the Service). It was established at the same time that CSIS was created in 1984 and derives its powers from the same legislation, the CSIS Act.

The Committee's raison d'être is to provide assurance to the Parliament of Canada and through it, to Canadians, that CSIS is acting appropriately and effectively in the performance of its duties and functions. In doing so, the Committee seeks to ensure that CSIS does not undermine the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians. The Committee is the only independent, external body equipped with the legal mandate and expertise to review the Service's activities, and is, therefore, a cornerstone for ensuring the democratic accountability of one of the Government's most powerful organizations.

To provide this assurance, SIRC has two key Program Activities. The first is to conduct in-depth reviews of CSIS activities to assess their effectiveness and ensure that they comply with the CSIS Act, Ministerial direction and the various policy instruments that flow from it. The second is to inquire into complaints by any person about any action of the Service.

The Service continues at all times to be accountable for current operations through the existing apparatus of government, specifically the Minister of Public Safety, the Inspector General of CSIS, central agencies and the Auditor General, Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Organizational Information

The Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Committee is the Honourable Gary Filmon, P.C., O.M., who was appointed Chair on June 24, 2005. The other Members are the Honourable Raymond Speaker, P.C., O.C., the Honourable Baljit S. Chadha, P.C., the Honourable Roy Romanow, P.C., O.C., Q.C. and the Honourable Aldéa Landry, P.C., C.M., Q.C. (Mr. Chadha's 5-year appointment expired in February, 2008 and at the time of writing, a replacement had not been named). All Members of the Committee are Privy Councillors, who are appointed by the Governor-in-Council after consultation by the Prime Minister with the Leaders of the Opposition parties.

Organizational Information for SIRC

Voted and Statutory Items Displayed in Main Estimates


($ millions)
Vote or Statutory Item
Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording 2008-2009 Main Estimates 2007-2008 Main Estimates
30
Program expenditures 2.6 2.6
(S)
Contributions to employee benefit plans 0.3 0.3
 
Total Agency 2.9 2.9

Planned Spending and Full Time Equivalents


($ millions)
Forecast Spending 2007-2008 Planned Spending 2008-2009 Planned Spending 2009-2010 Planned Spending 2010-2011
Reviews
1.6 1.8 1.8 1.8
Complaints
1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8
Budgetary Main Estimates (gross)
2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6
Non-Budgetary Main Estimates (gross)
       
Less: Respendable revenue
       
Total Main Estimates
2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6
Adjustments:
       
Treasury Board Vote 15
Employee Benefit Plan (EBP)
0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Total Planned Spending
2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9
         
Total Planned Spending
2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9
Less: Non-respendable revenue
       
Plus: Cost of services received without charge
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Net cost of Program
3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1
         
Full Time Equivalents
20 21 21 21

Summary Information

Financial Resources ($ millions)


2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
$2.9
$2.9
$2.9

Human Resources (FTEs)


2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
21
21
21

Priorities


Agency Priorities
Type
Continuous improvement in the reviews and complaints programs
Ongoing
Improved corporate management
Ongoing

Program Activities by Strategic Outcome


($ millions) Expected Results Planned Spending Contributes to the following priority
2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
Strategic Outcome: The Parliament of Canada and through it, Canadians, are assured that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is complying with the law, policy and Ministerial direction in the performance of its duties and functions.
Priorities 1 & 2
Reviews
Improvements to CSIS performance $2.0 $2.0 $2.0  
Complaints
Fair and timely resolution $0.9 $0.9 $0.9  

Planning Environment

SIRC's planning environment has been influenced by several factors although in some cases, their full effect has yet to be determined.

O'Connor Commission of Inquiry

The findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar have the potential to affect SIRC significantly.

In September, 2006, Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor released his Report on the Events Relating to Maher Arar. This seminal report contained 23 recommendations on various aspects of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's and other agencies' national security activities, such as investigative interaction with countries with questionable human rights records and the issue of Canadians detained abroad. SIRC was pleased to note that Mr. Justice O'Connor's findings concerning CSIS's activities with respect to Mr. Arar were consistent with its own conclusions in its report on this matter.

Three months later, Mr. Justice O'Connor released a companion report summarizing the work of his policy review. Nine of its 13 recommendations dealt with an independent, arm's length review mechanism for the RCMP's national security activities. The report also proposed that independent review and complaints investigations be extended to encompass the same functions of the Canada Border Services Agency, Citizenship and Immigration, Transport, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre and Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Mr. Justice O'Connor concluded that SIRC was the logical body to review the national security activities of the latter four entities.

The report also recommended that 'statutory gateways' be enacted linking Canada's three independent review bodies, in order to provide for integrated review and a centralized intake mechanism for complaints. Although SIRC has some concerns about the mandate and potential resource requirements of the proposed Integrated National Security Review Coordinating Committee, SIRC agrees that any legislative impediments to greater coordination and information exchange among existing review bodies, should be addressed.

The Government has been studying Mr. Justice O'Connor's recommendations for more than one year. SIRC remains ready to assume an expanded role, subject to a full and complete assessment of possible workload and resource implications.

Proposed National Security Committee of Parliamentarians

Proposed legislation to establish a National Security Committee of Parliamentarians died on the order paper when the previous Government fell in 2006.

Should the Government pursue this initiative, it remains unclear what impact this new Committee might have on the existing House and Senate committees. SIRC also has questions about its own relationship with the proposed Committee. Although SIRC wants to establish a constructive relationship, it remains concerned about respective mandates and possible overlap and duplication. In addition, SIRC's Members would have to address the legal conundrum of how to respond to Parliamentary requests for classified information, which could conflict with their Oaths of Secrecy and certain provisions of the CSIS Act.

Major and Iacobucci Commissions of Inquiry

In May, 2006, the Government appointed Mr. Justice John Major to lead an independent judicial inquiry into certain aspects of the 1985 Air India bombing. Seven months later, in response to the findings of the O'Connor Commission, the Government announced an inquiry under former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci, to examine allegations made by three Canadian citizens that information provided by Canadian officials resulted in their detention and torture abroad. When these commissions report to Government (expected in 2008), their analysis and recommendations will be carefully studied to determine if there is any need for follow-up on SIRC's part.

Evolving Role for CSIS

To respond better to developments in the national security intelligence environment, CSIS significantly realigned itself in May, 2006. Essentially, the Service's organizational structure is now geographically-based, with each branch being responsible for investigating all threats emanating from a particular part of the world. It is expected that these changes will increase operational capability; consolidate and enhance analysis and production functions; and ensure enhanced corporate support. Coupled with an increasingly active foreign role (one example being support to Canada's mission in Afghanistan), SIRC's review function will need to adapt, in order to ensure regular albeit periodic examination of all CSIS operations and activities.

Pressures on SIRC's Complaints Program

In June, 2007, SIRC was identified as an alternative redress mechanism to hear complaints from individuals denied permission to board an aircraft under Transport Canada’s Passenger Protect Program or "no-fly" list. In December, 2007, the first phase of the Marine Transportation Security Clearance Program came into effect in several Canadian ports and marine control centres, and the program will be further expanded when the second phase comes into force one year later. Marine workers whose security clearances have been refused or cancelled by Transport Canada and who believe this decision was due to "an act or thing" done by CSIS, can file a complaint with SIRC. Both Transport Canada programs could potentially increase the volume of complaints handled by SIRC, although it is still too early to detect trends.

There could also be a significant impact on SIRC's complaints process, should Mr. Justice O'Connor's policy review recommendations be implemented. SIRC would be required to investigate complaints made against Citizenship and Immigration, Transport, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre and Foreign Affairs and International Trade, consistent with the governing legislation for each of those organizations.

Management Accountability

SIRC continues to face challenges because of its small size: it cannot justify hiring dedicated staff who would be solely responsible for financial and human resource management. As a result, SIRC must increasingly rely on external contractors, which diverts resources from its core functions.

Effective human resource management is an ongoing challenge. Inevitably, some vacancies need to be filled each year. However, since all employees must obtain a Level III (Top Secret) security clearance prior to their arrival, it can take months before prospective new employees are vetted. They also require extensive training before they can fully perform their duties. The retention of qualified staff is also problematic, given the realities of today's workforce and its demographics. SIRC is too small to offer its employees long-term career advancement, which puts additional pressure on effective human resource management.

Plans and Priorities

Before discussing SIRC's priorities for 2008-2009, it is important to recognize that all of the Committee's resources are allocated to two Program Activities. The first is to conduct in-depth reviews of CSIS activities to assess their effectiveness and ensure they comply with the CSIS Act, Ministerial direction and the various policy instruments that flow from it. The second is to investigate complaints by any person about any action of the Service. These two Program Activities have not changed significantly since 1984 – the year that SIRC was created.

In last year's RPP, SIRC identified five priorities, but as a result of discussions with the Treasury Board Secretariat, three were more appropriately identified as sub-activities of the Review Program (discussed in more detail in Section II). The remainder have been subsumed within SIRC's ongoing priorities of:

  • Continuous improvement in the reviews and complaints programs; and
  • Improved corporate management.

Continuous program improvement

Under this priority, SIRC will be undertaking several initiatives to improve and refine the Review and Complaints Programs in the coming year.

As previously mentioned, CSIS's organizational realignment and the increasing importance of intelligence collection overseas, has implications for the Review Program. The selection of reviews for SIRC's annual research plan needs to reflect CSIS's new structure and the increasing complexity of its operations, which includes a growing number of foreign activities.

SIRC's research methodology is also continuously evolving. SIRC's reliance on reviewing electronic and paper documentation is increasingly being complemented by briefings and interviews with CSIS staff directly involved in particular operations. In the future, it may also be appropriate to solicit opinions from a broader cross-section of security intelligence experts, and to explore the best practices of other domestic and foreign review bodies to further refine SIRC's Review Program. SIRC's participation in the International Intelligence Review Agencies Conference offers opportunities for networking and knowledge transfer in this highly-specialized field of research.

In the realm of complaints, SIRC will continue to encourage CSIS to make representations to SIRC regarding its jurisdiction, prior to the Committee making a formal decision on whether or not to accept a complaints case. This is intended to avoid as much as possible subsequent jurisdictional challenges after a complaints investigation has begun (or indeed, after SIRC has already ruled on a complaint). Another improvement relates to the provision of ongoing legal training, to assist Members in presiding over a fair hearing in a timely manner. In 2007, the Committee received practical guidance on the relevance and materiality of evidence as well as meeting with the Chair of the Public Service Labour Relations Board to discuss common issues facing administrative tribunals. The Senior Counsel intends to continue providing such training to Committee Members and staff in the coming year.

One recurring challenge in the Complaints Program concerns the timely resolution of investigations. (Some delays, for example, scheduling conflicts between different parties, are beyond SIRC's control). SIRC has employed pre-hearing conferences for over two years to resolve preliminary procedural matters. Working collaboratively with CSIS and representatives of complainants, SIRC remains confident that even greater efficiencies can be realized.

Finally, SIRC intends to make some adjustments to its Rules of Procedure (adopted in 1985) to reflect current practices.

Improved corporate management

Under its second priority, SIRC will be focusing on several human resource issues. Last year, SIRC launched a review of its terms and conditions of employment, following discussions with the Treasury Board Secretariat. These terms were originally approved by Treasury Board Ministers in 1985 and have not been amended since then. Although it is a separate employer, SIRC strives to conform to the current collective agreements governing occupational groups in the federal public service. This exercise should result in modernized terms and conditions which are more reflective of today's working conditions.

A companion aspect of this exercise involves reviewing the classification of SIRC's employees. In particular, SIRC will explore whether researchers currently in the Program Administration (PM) group might more appropriately be classified in another occupational group within the federal public service, to reflect their actual duties. Should some of SIRC's positions be reclassified, the intention is not to increase current salary levels, but rather to improve SIRC's ability to recruit qualified staff.

Another aspect of human resource management concerns the professional development of SIRC staff. National security intelligence is a highly specialized field which is continually evolving in response to the changing threat environment. SIRC will continue to seek opportunities for staff to attend appropriate seminars and conferences. In addition, SIRC intends to increase the number of internal presentations – both to the Committee and staff – to expose them to practitioners with relevant expertise.

Following the proclamation of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act in 2007, SIRC instructed its employees to make representations directly to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner should they become aware of serious wrongdoing. This has been reflected in SIRC's own disclosure policy which was communicated internally to its employees. In the coming year, the Treasury Board plans to introduce a federal code of conduct for the public sector. SIRC will need to develop additional internal policies relating to this new code and to amend the aforementioned disclosure policy.

SIRC also expects additional reporting requests from central agencies, associated with reforms to expenditure management and the passage of the Federal Accountability Act.