The Committee’s 2023 activities
Annual Report 2023
2. In 2023, NSICOP welcomed two new members from the Senate. On June 2, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of the Honourable Patricia (Pat) Duncan and on August 8, the appointment of the Honourable Marty Klyne.
3. During the year, the Committee met 38 times between February 3 and December 15. It met with 50 officials from 13 organizations, either in-person or via secure video conference. That work resulted in the completion of two special reports and the launch of one new review.
4. On March 8, the Committee announced a review of foreign interference in Canada’s federal democratic processes and institutions pursuant to section 8(1)(a) of the NSICOP Act. This decision followed the Prime Minister’s request for the Committee to “complete a review to assess the state of foreign interference in federal electoral processes” with respect to “foreign interference attempts that occurred in the 43rd and 44th federal general elections, including potential effects on Canada’s democracy and institutions.” Footnote 1 The Committee met and considered this request. It decided on a broader review of the state of foreign interference in Canada’s federal democratic processes and institutions. This examination builds on work from a previous review tabled in 2020 on the government’s response to foreign interference from 2015 to 2018. Footnote 2
5. On November 7, the Prime Minister tabled a revised version of NSICOP's Special Report on the Federal Policing Mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The report was submitted to the Prime Minister on August 8 and is summarized below. Findings and recommendations are presented in Annex A. The government has not yet provided a response.
6. For the first time since its inception, the Committee submitted a review to the Prime Minister and invoked subsection 21(3) of the NSICOP Act. Accordingly, this special report, due to the nature and sensitivity of the information reviewed, will not be tabled before either House of Parliament as per subsection 21(4) of the Act. The special report looked at an intelligence collection activity and was submitted to the Prime Minister in November. A summary has been included in this annual report. The government responded to the Committee’s report.
NSICOP’s access to relevant documents
7. The Committee continues to face challenges regarding access to documents for its reviews.
8. In May 2023, the Prime Minister granted NSICOP access to four documents protected by Cabinet confidence as part of its review of foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes and institutions. Footnote 3 These documents were helpful in understanding the timeframe and steps that the government took to address this issue.
9. Despite this unprecedented access, obstacles remained in accessing all relevant information. Notwithstanding the four Cabinet documents, federal departments and agencies withheld or refused the disclosure of over a thousand documents, in whole or in part, on the basis that they were Cabinet confidences. Specifically, close to a quarter of these documents were withheld in their entirety. The Committee is concerned that some departments and agencies may be inappropriately using claims of Cabinet confidences to avoid disclosing information to the Committee.
10. The Committee was pleased to note that, further to its comment on this issue in its Annual Report 2022, the government has begun to identify which relevant documents are being withheld and on what basis, including claims of Cabinet confidence. This has allowed it to conclude that there are many such claims being exercised for each review. The Committee reiterates the comments made in its Special Report on the National Security and Intelligence Activities of Global Affairs Canada in asking the government to address this issue. It continues to state that while a legislative change to the definition of Cabinet confidence is desirable, in the near term, a clear statement of policy that NSICOP should be barred from receiving only core Cabinet secrets would go some way to addressing the issues being experienced. Specifically, such a statement could outline that information withheld from the Committee under section 14(a) of the NSICOP Act would be limited to that which is provided directly to Cabinet or ministers attending Cabinet committee meetings and which reveals options, Cabinet deliberations or discussions of these meetings.
11. It goes without saying that it is essential for the Committee to have comprehensive access to all the information it needs to fulfill its statutory responsibility of conducting reviews and making relevant recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the security and intelligence community.
The government response to recommendations
12. The Committee also continues to face challenges obtaining responses from the government to its recommendations. While the government is not required to respond to NSICOP findings and recommendations, such responses demonstrate a commitment to taking the necessary action to strengthen the policies, operations and accountability of the security and intelligence community.
13. The challenge was partially resolved in 2021 when the government provided for the first-time explicit responses to recommendations from the Committee’s review of government cyber defences. It did so again the next year following a review of the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada. In time for the current annual report, the government provided status updates regarding the implementation of certain recommendations, some dating back to 2018. While the Committee is pleased that some progress is being made, it continues to await a response to its Special Report on the Federal Policing Mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provided in 2023.