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

Section 3: Want to know more about SIRC?

Committee membership

SIRC is chaired by the Honourable Gary Filmon, P.C., O.M., who was appointed on June 24, 2005. The other Members are the Honourable Raymond Speaker, P.C., O.C., the Honourable Baljit S. Chadha, P.C., the Honourable Roy Romanow, P.C., O.C., Q.C., and the Honourable Aldéa Landry, P.C., C.M., Q.C.

All Members of SIRC are Privy Councillors, who are appointed by the Governor-in-Council after consultation by the Prime Minister with the leaders of the Opposition parties.

SIRC provides assurance to Parliament—and through it, to Canadians—that CSIS complies with legislation, policy and Ministerial Direction in the performance of its duties and functions. SIRC seeks to ensure that the Service does not undermine the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians. It is the only independent, external body equipped with the legal mandate and expertise to review the activities of CSIS. Moreover, SIRC is a cornerstone of Canada's democratic tradition as it ensures the accountability of one of the government's most powerful organizations.

In addition to attending monthly committee meetings, members preside over complaints hearings, prepare reviews and complaint reports in consultation with SIRC staff, visit CSIS regional offices, appear before Parliament and exercise other duties associated with their responsibilities.

Staffing and organization

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

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.

As part of their ongoing work, 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 SIRC's knowledge about issues and opinions affecting the security intelligence field.

SIRC 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 be briefed by regional CSIS staff on local issues, challenges and priorities. It is also an opportunity to communicate SIRC's focus and concerns.

During the 2005-06 fiscal year, SIRC visited two regional offices. Over the last five years, SIRC has visited all six CSIS regional offices. In addition, SIRC staff received specialized training in a regional office concerning investigative techniques used by the Service. See SIRC meetings and briefings 2005-06 for a summary of additional activities undertaken by SIRC during this period.

Budget and expenditures

SIRC 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. Table 10 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 11 outlines the number of requests SIRC has received under these acts for the past three fiscal years.

Access to Information requests for SIRC's studies represent the largest portion of access requests. SIRC waives the application fees for all such requests.

Communications

To commemorate its 20^th anniversary, SIRC co-hosted a major international symposium with the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies of Carleton University. Held in May 2005, the theme of this two-day event was "Making National Security Accountable: International Perspectives on Intelligence Review and Oversight," which was explored in panel discussions and keynote speeches. The symposium attracted over 200 registered delegates and featured a range of experts from both Canada and abroad.

Although SIRC's annual report is the main communications vehicle for informing Parliament and Canadians about its work, it has implemented a modest communications program. SIRC has also undertaken some public opinion research, which shows that Canadians' awareness of review bodies remains very low, although perceptions of their independence and objectivity remain positive.

SIRC's website is continually updated with information relevant to the security and intelligence community. Since the website was first launched, traffic has increased significantly, with the number of "total successful requests" more than doubling, to 539,789 in April 2006, from 201,267 a year ago.

In an effort to be inclusive and to ensure that its recourse mechanism is well-understood, SIRC posted an Arabic translation of "How to Make a Complaint" on its website in January 2006. In addition, CSIS's home page now features a direct hyperlink to SIRC's website. As principal spokesperson, the Chair has met with some journalists to discuss SIRC's work, and is scheduled to deliver several speeches in the upcoming year.

Modern comptrollership

In 2005-06, SIRC contracted for an independent audit of its policy framework to confirm that its policies and procedures were consistent with Treasury Board requirements. It also aimed to identify gaps or omissions requiring attention. Moreover, SIRC developed competency profiles for all its staff and completed position descriptions for its researchers and counsel.

In the coming year, SIRC will be implementing an improved financial management framework, which will introduce further rigor to the way resources are allocated and expenditures are monitored. The Report on Plans and Priorities is the foundation on which budgets for SIRC's program activities and priorities are established.

Also of note, SIRC contracted for an independent financial audit, which will examine how SIRC has used additional resources that were approved earlier by Parliament. This audit was completed in June 2006.