Introduction
National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Annual Report 2019

1. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP or "the Committee") is pleased to present the Prime Minister with its 2019 Annual Report. The Committee has a broad mandate to review the framework and activities of Canada's security and intelligence community. Members of the Committee hold the highest security clearances and, with certain exceptions, have the legislative right to access any information related to their mandate that is under the control of a department.

2. Consistent with sub-section 8(1) of the NSICOP Act, the Committee's mandate is to review:

• the legislative, regulatory, policy, administrative and financial framework for national security and intelligence ('framework reviews');
• any activity carried out by a department that relates to national security or intelligence ('activity reviews');
• any matter relating to national security or intelligence that a minister of the Crown refers to the Committee ('referral reviews').

In both 2018 and 2019, the Committee conducted at least one framework review and one activity review. This approach allowed the Committee to analyze national security and intelligence issues that implicated the security and intelligence community as a whole, while also conducting reviews of agencies and departments previously not subject to external review. Consistent with subsection 21(2) of the NSICOP Act, the Committee may also provide the Prime Minister and the Minister concerned with a special report on any matter related to its mandate. The Committee conducted two reviews during this period, which arose from unique circumstances that, in the Committee's opinion, required Special Reports to the responsible Ministers.

3. In 2019, the Committee maintained an ambitious agenda, building on the foundation established in its first year. As part of this 2019 Annual Report, the Committee conducted two framework reviews (Diversity and Inclusion in the Security and Intelligence Community, and the Government Response to Foreign Interference) and one activity review (the Canada Border Services Agency's National Security and Intelligence Activities). The Committee also produced a Special Report on the collection, use, retention and dissemination of information on Canadians in the context of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) defence intelligence activities.

4. Between January and June, the Committee met 22 times, including to hear testimony from 44 officials from 8 organizations, 1 former senior official and 3 academics. The Committee finalized its four reviews over a further three meetings in July and August.

5. Pursuant to paragraph 21(1)(d) of the NSICOP Act, the Committee must include in its Annual Report the number of instances in the preceding year that an appropriate minister determined that an activity review would be injurious to national security. As outlined in paragraphs 16(1)(a) and 21(1) of the Act, the Committee is also required to disclose the number of times a responsible minister refused to provide information to the Committee due to his or her opinion that the information constituted special operational information or would be injurious to national security. In 2019, no reviews proposed by the Committee were deemed injurious to national security and no information requested by the Committee was refused by a minister on those grounds.

6. The Committee also notes that it received annual reports from Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Communications Security Establishment and Royal Canadian Mounted Police on their application of Ministerial Direction on Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities.

Format of the annual report

7. Chapter 1 presents the Committee's review of diversity and inclusion in the Canadian security and intelligence community. Challenges to increasing diversity and inclusion — two core values of Canada and its public service — persist in the security and intelligence community despite decades of legislation, multiple reports and repeated calls for change. These issues are of particular importance for organizations responsible for protecting national security and the rights and freedoms of Canadians. This review provides a baseline assessment of the degree of representation of women, Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities and persons with disabilities within the security and intelligence community, and examines the goals, initiatives, programs and measures departments and agencies have taken to promote diversity and inclusion. It is the first multi-departmental review of its kind.

8. Chapter 2 presents the Committee's review of the government's response to foreign interference. This review demonstrates that some states pose a risk to Canadian institutions and Canadian rights, freedoms and values. The chapter's first section explains the breadth and scope of the threat of foreign interference. It outlines the primary threat actors and examines the threat that those actors pose to Canada's fundamental institutions and ethno-cultural communities. The second describes government efforts to respond to the threat. This review is important because of the potential adverse effects of foreign interference on Canadian democratic institutions and on the rights and freedoms of Canadians.

9. Chapter 3 presents the Committee's review of the national security and intelligence activities of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), a core member of Canada's security and intelligence community, given its responsibility for border security. However, CBSA’s national security and intelligence activities are not widely known nor well understood. These activities also present a number of inherent risks, including risks to an individual's Charter rights and risks related to balancing enforcement and the free-flow of legitimate travellers and trade. Based on these considerations and others, the Committee conducted the first - ever review of CBSA’s most sensitive national security and intelligence activities.