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2. Annual Reports >
3. Annual Report 2005-2006 >
4. Section 2. A. Reporting requirements

Annual Report 2005-2006 - An Operational Review of CSIS Activities

Section 2: CSIS accountability mechanisms

A. Reporting requirements

CSIS Director's Annual Report (2004-05)

Every year, the Director of CSIS must submit a Top Secret report to the Minister of Public Safety, describing in detail the Service's priorities and operational activities. The CSIS Act requires that the Inspector General of CSIS examine this report and submit a certificate to the Minister, attesting to the extent to which he or she is satisfied with its contents. Finally, the Minister sends a copy of both documents to SIRC for its review, as required by Section 38(a) of the CSIS Act.

The 2004-05 Director's report stated that in supporting the Service's highest priority—public safety—CSIS is working to prevent a terrorist attack from either occurring or originating in Canada. The Director noted that this is having an impact on the agency's resources, and discussed the strategies being used to combat this challenge.

Attention was also drawn to a new dimension of the threat posed by Islamic extremism. While the threat from al-Qaida remains strongest overseas, a terrorist attack on Canadian soil is now considered probable. For the first time, CSIS also warned about the relatively new threat posed by homegrown converts.

The Director's report also noted that the Service continues to investigate attempts by foreign countries to conduct espionage and interfere with expatriate communities in Canada.

The report highlighted efforts by CSIS to strengthen its cooperation with domestic partners. The Service also reported having excellent relations with its key foreign partners, and that it had assisted foreign intelligence services in newly democratized states by providing training on the principles and techniques of intelligence collection.

The report included details about the Service's human sources and security screening programs, as well as a description of its compliance with Ministerial Direction and National Requirements from the Minister of Public Safety.

Readers should note that CSIS posts public, unclassified reports on its website (www.csis-scrs.gc.ca).

Certificate of the Inspector General (2005)

The position of Inspector General (IG) was established in 1984 under the CSIS Act. The IG functions as the “eyes and ears” of the Minister of Public Safety, reviewing the Service's operations and providing assurance that CSIS is complying with the CSIS Act, Ministerial Direction and operational policy.

Every year, the IG submits a certificate to the Minister stating the extent to which he or she is satisfied with the CSIS Director's Annual Report. The certificate informs the Minister of any instances of CSIS failing to comply with either the Act or Ministerial Direction, or an unreasonable or unnecessary exercise of powers.

In the latest certificate, the IG noted that the Director of CSIS had reported three incidents of non-compliance with operational policy for 2004-05. The IG looked into these incidents and found that appropriate action had been taken in each case. The IG also identified two additional cases of non-compliance. However, she indicated that the only corrective action required was “a greater degree of diligence in respecting the reporting requirements.”

The IG also expressed concern about several inaccuracies she identified in the Director's report. Two concerned statistical errors but others were, in her view, more substantive. According to the certificate, the Service has acknowledged the inaccuracies and has advised the IG that corrective steps would be taken.

The IG concluded that there had been substantial improvements in the response time of the Service in assisting her office staff with their work. “The concerns raised above,” she added, “are not intended in any way to detract from the devotion or dedication of the Service or its employees to serve Canada and to counter threats to the security of the state.”

For more information, please refer to the Inspector General's home page on the Public Safety website (www.psepc-sppcc.gc.ca).

Unlawful conduct by CSIS

Under Section 20(2) of the CSIS Act, the Director of CSIS must submit a report to the Minister when, in the Director's 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 or her comments to the Attorney General of Canada and to SIRC.

In 2005-06, there were no activities requiring such a report.

Disclosures of information

Section 19 of the CSIS Act prohibits information obtained by the Service in the course of its investigation from being disclosed except in specific circumstances. Of note, Section 19(2)(d) gives the Minister of Public Safety the power to override any invasion-of-privacy concerns, authorizing the Service to disclose information deemed to be in the national or public interest. When such information is released, the Director of CSIS must submit a report to SIRC. In the past, there have been only two disclosures under this section of the Act. In 2005-06, CSIS reported to SIRC that there were no such disclosures of information.

The Service can also disclose information in written or verbal form to any law enforcement body or federal government entity, such as the Department of National Defence and Foreign Affairs Canada. When CSIS permits the use of its information by the RCMP for use in judicial proceedings, it must do so in writing.

A disclosure letter from CSIS permits the RCMP to use the Service's information to pursue a criminal investigation. Should the RCMP wish to use this information in a court of law, they must obtain an advisory letter from the Service granting them permission to do so.

The following table summarizes the Service's Section 19 disclosures by branch.

Table 2 CSIS disclosures of information under Section 19 of the CSIS Act

Branch	Law enforcement (a)	Foreign Affairs Canada (b)	Department of National Defence (c)	Public interest (d)
Counter Terrorism	293	0	4	0
Counter Intelligence	19	0	0	0
Counter Proliferation	23	1,340	2,353	0
Totals	335	1,340	2,357	0

1. Disclosed under Section 19(2)(a)
2. Disclosed under Section 19(2)(b)
3. Disclosed under Section 19(2)(c)
4. Disclosed under Section 19(2)(d)

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Date Modified:

2010-10-14