The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA; french: Office de surveillance des activités en matière de sécurité nationale et de renseignement, OSSNR) is an independent
government agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
organized to review all
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
and intelligence activities carried out by the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
. NSIRA was established in June 2019 to replace the
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC; french: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) was a committee of Privy Councillors that was empowered to serve as an independent oversight and review body for the o ...
, which was limited to reviewing the activities of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
(CSIS).
Mandate and history
NSIRA ensures that Canada's national security agencies are complying with the law and that their actions are reasonable and necessary.
It has full and independent authority to determine what government activities it reviews, including ongoing national security and intelligence activities.
The ''National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) Act'' was introduced to the House of Commons in June 2017 as part of an omnibus national security bill, the ''
National Security Act, 2017'', and received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019.
The ''NSIRA Act'' closed gaps in the national security accountability framework first identified by Justice O'Connor in the 2006 report of the ''Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar'', and subsequently by many others.
Prior to NSIRA, only specific agencies had independent expert review bodies, and these bodies could not collaborate or share classified information. NSIRA, by contrast, is mandated to review all Government of Canada national security and intelligence activities in an integrated manner, without regard for the department or agency the activities fall under.
This model recognizes the increasingly interconnected nature of the government's national security and intelligence activities.
This includes, but is not limited to, the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Department of National Defence (DND), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Department of Justice, and others.
To fulfill its review mandate, NSIRA is entitled to receive all information held by federal entities that NSIRA deems relevant to its reviews, no matter how classified or sensitive. This includes information subject to a legal privilege.
NSIRA also hears public complaints regarding the activities of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
(CSIS) and the
Communications Security Establishment
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE; french: Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications, ''CST''), formerly (from 2008-2014) called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), is the Government of Canada's national c ...
(CSE), and the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP), as well as complaints regarding the Government of Canada security clearance process.
NSIRA replaced the
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC; french: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) was a committee of Privy Councillors that was empowered to serve as an independent oversight and review body for the o ...
, which was limited to the review of CSIS. NSIRA also replaced the former Office of the CSE Commissioner (OCSEC), which reviewed the activities of the CSE.
In addition, NSIRA assumed responsibility for reviewing the national security and intelligence activities of the RCMP from the
.
NSIRA provides its findings and recommendations to relevant Ministers through classified reports. It also produces an unclassified annual report to the Prime Minister who must table that report in Parliament.
NSIRA's first annual public report is to be tabled in Parliament in 2020.
The NSIRA may also report to Parliament more frequently should urgent or important matters arise.
Collaboration with NSICOP
The
(NSICOP) has a mandate to review the legislative, regulatory, policy, administrative and financial framework for national security and intelligence in Canada, as well as departmental activities related to national security and intelligence.
NSICOP reviews will tend to be more strategic than those of NSIRA, which undertakes detailed reviews of specific activities with a strong emphasis on legal compliance. In practice, the two review bodies will complement each other and provide Canadians with comprehensive and multi-faceted scrutiny of the Government's secret activities.
NSIRA and the NSICOP may exchange classified information, and are required by statute to cooperate in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
Composition
NSIRA is led by a Chair and between three and six other Committee Members, appointed by the Prime Minister in consultation with Parliamentary leaders.
Each member of NSIRA is appointed to hold office for a term not exceeding five years and is eligible for reappointment to a second term. NSIRA is supported by a secretariat of approximately 100 national security and legal experts.
On July 24, 2019, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
announced that former NDP MP
Murray Rankin would be NSIRA's first Chair.
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
law professor Craig Forcese and all four members of the defunct
Security Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC; french: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) was a committee of Privy Councillors that was empowered to serve as an independent oversight and review body for the o ...
were also announced as Committee Members.
See also
*
(NSICOP)
References
{{authority control
Federal departments and agencies of Canada
Government agencies established in 2019
Independent government agencies of Canada