Context:
Controversy over foreign interference in Canadian elections has focused attention on how the national security accountability system works in Canada.
Issue:
Who does what in the Canadian national security accountability system?
Bottom Line:
The Canadian national security accountability system comprises “control” and “scrutiny” of national security services. Scrutiny — examining the conduct of services — is complicated by the classified nature of those activities. In practice, scrutiny by bodies such as parliamentary committees is impaired by limited access to classified information.
As a proxy to facilitate accountability of security services to ministers and Parliament, Canada has developed specialized “review” bodies. These bodies have access to classified information, although governing statutes impose different information access standards. These are the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) (an expert body focused mostly on legal compliance issues and with the fullest access to information) and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICoP) (a committee of parliamentarians with a focus on “bigger picture” questions of efficacy and effectiveness of security services and with slightly more limited access to information).
(I have other video primers on the pros and cons of different forms of scrutiny and addressing also the functions of these two bodies, prepared for an online course. I shall likely circulate those in a future capsule-cast, depending on interest.)
The Details:
Run time: 11:29 (This video was created for an online course built around my book, cited below. It is therefore longer than most capsule-casts.)
Resources:
Craig Forcese, Fundamentals of National Security Accountability in Canada (Irwin Law, 2023).