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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

SIRC has only one strategic outcome, described below. SIRC is a cornerstone for ensuring the democratic accountability of a government institution, which, by necessity, performs much of its work in secret.

Strategic Outcome

To provide assurance to the Parliament of Canada and, through it, to Canadians that CSIS is complying with the law, policy and Ministerial direction in the performance of its duties and functions.

Program Activity #1: Reviews of CSIS Activities

Financial Resources

Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual Spending
$1.9	$2.0	$1.6

Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Authorities	Actual
14	14	11

The purpose of the Review Program is to conduct reviews of CSIS activities to ensure that CSIS performs its duties and functions appropriately and effectively, and in accordance with legislation, policy and Ministerial direction. The expected result is to improve CSIS's performance based on the findings and recommendations that SIRC makes in its reviews.

The CSIS Act grants SIRC access to all information under the control of CSIS, no matter how highly classified that information may be. The only exception to this power is Cabinet confidences.

The Committee examines CSIS's performance on a retrospective basis, that is to say, it examines the past activities 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, the central agencies, the Auditor General, the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

The review process begins with the Committee's approval of a research plan for the year. The proposals outlined in the plan and the allocation of resources remain flexible so that the Committee can respond to unforeseen events. Once approved, resources are allocated for each planned review. A typical review involves hundreds of staff hours dedicated over several months. Staff review thousands of pages of hard copy and electronic documentation from CSIS, interview CSIS staff, submit detailed questions for response and, where appropriate, conduct field visits to a CSIS regional office or a foreign post.

A classified report detailing the results of the review, including any findings and recommendations, is presented to the Committee at one of its monthly meetings. SIRC provides copies of finalized reports to the Director of CSIS and to the Inspector General of CSIS, who works for the Minister of Public Safety. At times, a report may be furnished directly to the Minister for Public Safety upon his request, or when the Committee deems it appropriate. Finally, declassified summaries of all reviews are included in the Committee's annual report to Parliament.

SIRC's research program is designed to address a broad range of CSIS's duties and functions. This approach allows the Committee to manage the inherent risk of being able to review only a small percentage of CSIS activities in any single year. Thus, over the course of several years, SIRC is able to examine a significant number of CSIS's investigations and functions. The Committee must always be prepared to adjust the research program to address unforeseen events.

In selecting reviews for this fiscal year, SIRC took into consideration domestic and world events; issues, priorities and concerns identified by Canadians and Parliament; past reviews; matters of interest identified in complaints investigations; and existing and emerging CSIS activities.

SIRC's review of CSIS activities is an ongoing activity that includes salary costs and training for staff, the annual report to Parliament, monthly meetings attended by Committee Members, their travel expenses and per diems. It also includes ground transportation on a nearly daily basis between SIRC's offices in downtown Ottawa and CSIS headquarters.

SIRC has developed several performance measurements for reviews. One measure is whether the research plan approved by the Committee at the beginning of the fiscal year is completed in its entirety. In fiscal 2007-2008, SIRC undertook eight reviews, including one carried over from the previous period. Five were completed and three were being finalized at year's end.

In addition, SIRC Committee Members and senior staff visited two CSIS regional offices. This provided the Committee with an opportunity to explore the day-to-day work of investigators in the field and to learn about the priorities and challenges of regional offices. Committee Members met with senior CSIS staff and received briefings on regional issues. The Committee also took the occasion to communicate its focus and concerns to CSIS. In addition, the Committee also reviewed one of CSIS's foreign posts. The primary focus of SIRC's review of these posts is to monitor the Service's operations at post and its information-sharing in that context with foreign and domestic agencies.

Other performance measures include follow-up with CSIS to identify whether they have acted on the recommendations contained in previous SIRC's reviews; the number and scope of reviews relative to SIRC's available resources; the frequency that different aspects of CSIS operations are reviewed and feedback on the quality of reviews from those who receive them.

Program Activity #2 : Complaints

Financial Resources

Planned Spending	Authorities	Actual Spending
$1.0	$1.0	$1.0

Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Authorities	Actual
7	7	6

The purpose of the Complaints Program is to conduct investigations in relation to:

• complaints "with respect to any act or thing done by the Service" as described in the CSIS Act;
  
  
• complaints about denials of security clearances to federal government employees and contractors;
  
  
• referrals from the Canadian Human Rights Commission in cases where the complaint relates to the security of Canada; and
  
  
• Minister of Public Safety's reports in respect of the Citizenship Act.

The Committee has no control over the number of complaints it receives in any given year; however, it has a statutory responsibility to respond promptly to every complaint. The volume, complexity and sensitivity of these cases can have a significant impact on SIRC's capacity to fulfill its mandate. Small changes in the number of complaints can significantly affect the Committee's budget and operations. In 2007-2008, there were 32 new complaints as compared to 37 in 2006-2007.

The complaints program activity includes salary costs and training for staff, complaints hearings presided over by Members, their travel expenses and per diems, as well as costs for simultaneous translation, court reporters and funding to obtain outside legal advice.

One measure of the program's effectiveness is whether the government seeks judicial review of the Committee's decisions by the Federal Court. No such action was taken in 2007-2008. SIRC has also adopted a standard whereby all written complaints are acknowledged formally within seven days of their receipt and that within 60 days, all complaints should either be resolved to the complainant's satisfaction, determined outside SIRC's jurisdiction or have become the subject of a Committee investigation.

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