Security Intelligence Review Committee

www.sirc-csars.gc.ca

Common menu bar

• Français
• Home
• Contact Us
• Help
• Search
• canada.gc.ca

Breadcrumb

1. Home >
2. Annual Reports >
3. Annual Report 2004-2005 >
4. Section 3: Want to Know More? An Overview of SIRC

Annual Report 2004-2005 - An Operational Review of CSIS Activities

Section 3: Want to Know More? An Overview of SIRC

Committee Membership

During the 2004-2005 fiscal year, SIRC was chaired by the Honourable Paule Gauthier, P.C., O.C., O.Q., Q.C., who was first appointed Chair on September 30, 1996, and re-appointed to a second five-year term in 2000. Mme Gauthier's appointment as Chair ended on June 7, 2005. On June 24, 2005, the Honourable Gary Filmon, P.C., O.M., was appointed as SIRC's new Chair, and Mme Aldĩa Landry, P.C., Q.C. was appointed as the Committee's newest member. Other Members of the Committee are: the Honourable Raymond Speaker, P.C., O.C. (reappointed on September 16, 2004, to a new five-year term); the Honourable Baljit Chadha, P.C.; and the Honourable Roy Romanow, P.C., O.C., Q.C.

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. There were no vacancies on the Committee at the close of this fiscal year.

Staffing And Organization

The Committee is supported by an Executive Director and a staff of 19, located in Ottawa. The staff comprises: an Associate Executive Director, a Deputy Executive Director, Senior Counsel, Counsel, Senior Paralegal (who also serves as Access to Information and Privacy Officer/Analyst), nine Researchers, a Corporate Services Manager and four administrative staff.

Committee Members provide staff with direction on research and other activities that are identified as a priority for the year. Management of day-to-day operations is delegated to the Executive Director with direction, when necessary, from the Chair as Chief Executive Officer.

Research And Review Activities

On an annual basis, the Committee identifies specific CSIS investigations and areas of responsibility for detailed review. Unforeseen events or new priorities may result in these reviews being supplemented by additional projects. SIRC analysts undertake the detailed research for each project, with direction from senior management and regular reporting to the Committee. Given the highly classified and sensitive nature of the materials being reviewed, SIRC staff divide their time between SIRC's premises and a fully equipped office at CSIS Headquarters, set up for the exclusive use of Committee staff.

Security Intelligence Briefings

As part of their ongoing information gathering, the Chair of SIRC, Committee Members, and senior staff participate in regular discussions with CSIS executive and staff, and other senior members of the security intelligence community. These exchanges are supplemented by discussions with academics, security and intelligence experts and relevant non-governmental organizations, such as human rights groups. Such activities enrich the Committee's knowledge about the range of issues and opinions affecting the security intelligence field. The Committee also visits CSIS regional offices on a rotating basis to examine how Ministerial Direction and CSIS policy affect the day-to-day work of investigators in the field. These trips give Committee Members an opportunity to meet with senior CSIS staff, to receive briefings on local issues, challenges, priorities and perspectives, and to communicate the Committee's focus and concerns. During the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the Committee visited two regional offices.

Additional Committee Activities

• On September 8, 2004, SIRC's Executive Director addressed the Interim Committee of Parliamentarians, which was established to consult and make recommendations regarding the proposed statutory Committee of Parliamentarians on National Security.
• The Chair, Committee Members, and Executive Director attended the International Intelligence Review Agencies Conference in Washington, D.C., October 3–5, 2004. The Committee stayed an extra day to meet with representatives from the oversight bodies of the American security and intelligence community.
• On October 6, 2004, the British High Commission visited SIRC's office to introduce the new Chief of the British Security Intelligence Services, who was appointed in August 2004.
• On October 6, 2004, the Associate Executive Director, on behalf of the Executive Director, was a guest lecturer at a Carleton University Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies seminar on intelligence, statecraft and international affairs. The Associate Executive Director provided students with an overview of SIRC.
• The Executive Director attended the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies (CCISS) Conference in Ottawa on April 14–15, 2004, entitled “Conference on the Gouzenko Affair: The Beginnings of Canadian Counter-Espionage and Cold War Intelligence History.” The Executive Director is a member of the board of advisors for the CCISS.
• The Executive Director and several staff attended a conference of the Canadian Association of Security and Intelligence Studies, held in Ottawa on October 14–17, 2004.
• On November 26, 2004, the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director met with members of the Netherlands Supervisory Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services.
• On March 21, 2005, the Executive Director gave a presentation to the students of the “National Security and Intelligence in the Modern State” course at Carleton University.
• In Spring 2005, SIRC released Reflections—a publication that recounted the watershed events over the Committee's 20-year history, including the McDonald Commission, the passage of the CSIS Act, as well as key reviews and complaint cases that SIRC has undertaken over the past two decades. It also provided detailed information on the inner workings of the Committee—helping to raise public awareness about SIRC's role and responsibilities.

Budget And Expenditures

The Committee continues to manage its activities within allocated resource levels. Staff salaries and travel within Canada for Committee hearings, briefings and review activities represent its chief expenditures. In December 2004, Parliament approved Supplementary Estimates, which increased SIRC's budget by $344,000 in 2004-2005, as well as in future years. This was based on a 2002 Treasury Board submission in which SIRC presented a business case explaining why additional funding was required to keep abreast of a 30% increase in CSIS's budget. This new funding was used mainly to hire additional research staff. Table 7 below presents a breakdown of actual and estimated expenditures.

Inquiries Under The Access To Information And Privacy Acts

The public may make requests to SIRC under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Table 8, Requests for Release of Information, outlines the number of requests SIRC has received under these acts for the past three fiscal years.

Access to Information requests for the Committee's studies represent the largest portion of the access requests. The work required to prepare a report for public release need only be done once, but this benefits all subsequent requesters. Consequently, the Committee waives the application fees for all requests for access to its studies.

Modern Comptrollership

SIRC made significant progress on the implementation of modern comptrollership initiatives during this fiscal year. The organization completed a management action plan, a risk assessment, an audit plan and developed performance indicators. Additional work in support of the implementation of modern comptrollership will continue in the new fiscal year. Given its small staff complement and the absence of dedicated, functional specialists, SIRC often relies on contracted resources to obtain the necessary expertise for this initiative.

Primary navigation (left column)

Date Modified:

2010-10-14