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Annual Report 2001-2002 - An Operational Audit of CSIS Activities
Section 3: Accountability Mechanisms
B. Reporting Requirements
CERTIFICATE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR 2001
The Inspector General of CSIS reports to the Solicitor General and functions effectively as the Minister's internal auditor of CSIS, reviewing the operational activities of the Service and monitoring compliance with policy and the law. Each year the Inspector General must submit to the Minister a certificate stating the “extent to which [he or she] is satisfied
” with the Director's annual report on the operational activities of the Service, and informing the Minister of any instances of CSIS having failed to comply with the Act or Ministerial Direction, or which involved an unreasonable or unnecessary exercise of powers. The Minister forwards the certificate to the Review Committee.
This year's certificate was the first for which the Inspector General and his full complement of staff had the benefit of an entire 12-month work cycle to complete their inquiries. As described by the Inspector General, his review consisted of a comprehensive inspection of documentation supporting the Director's report to the Minister, an analysis of significant Service operations and regular interviews with senior CSIS management at HQ and in the field.
With respect to the Director's report for 2000–2001, the Inspector General declared himself to be “fully satisfied.
” He also determined that, with one exception, the Service had not acted beyond its authority, contravened any Ministerial Direction or exercised its powers unreasonably or unnecessarily. The single exception was reported to the Attorney General of Canada as required by the CSIS Act.
CSIS ANNUAL OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR 2000–2001
The CSIS Director's annual report to the Solicitor General on CSIS operational activities comments on the Service's operational activities for the preceding fiscal year. Among the functions of the Committee is to review this report. Last year the Committee did not receive the Director's report in time for us to include it in our 2000–2001 annual report. Therefore, we present the review here.
In November 2000, the Inspector General of CSIS recommended that the Director's annual report to the Solicitor General should in future be more concise and focused than had previously been the case. The Director concurred in the recommendation.
The aim in adopting the new approach was to highlight significant Service activities, and any serious issues related to operations, public policy, areas of potential controversy and anticipated challenges. The report meets these objectives and, in so doing, serves as a useful tool for the Committee in its task of selecting subjects for future review and inquiry.
Omitted in the report are descriptions of a statistical or procedural nature such as targeting levels or the warrant process. Supporting details about warrant numbers and specific targets are provided to the Minister in separate documents. The new, concise reporting format directs attention to the most salient issues and challenges facing the Service—in the Committee's view, a significant improvement over the earlier more voluminous reports.
UNLAWFUL CONDUCT
Under section 20(2) of the CSIS Act, the Director of CSIS is to submit a report to the Minister when, in his opinion, a CSIS employee may have acted unlawfully in performing his or her duties and functions. The Minister, in turn, must send the report with his comments to the Attorney General of Canada and to the Committee.
In 2001–2002, the Service sent no reports of illegal conduct to the Minister. The instance of possible unlawful conduct, which the Committee noted on p. 43 of our 2000–2001 annual report remains unresolved at the time of publication of this report.