OTTAWA, ON, May 2, 2023 /CNW/ - The 2022 annual report with respect to the activities of the Office of the Intelligence Commissioner was tabled in Parliament yesterday. It is the Honourable Simon Noël's first annual report as Intelligence Commissioner.
The Intelligence Commissioner acts as a gatekeeper for certain national security and intelligence activities carried out by the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). These activities are initially authorized by the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Public Safety or the Director of CSIS. The record of the decision authorizing the activities is then provided to the Intelligence Commissioner for his review. The Intelligence Commissioner approves the decision if satisfied that the Minister's or the Director of CSIS' conclusions on the basis of which the activities were authorized are reasonable. CSE or CSIS can only carry out the activities when the Intelligence Commissioner approves the decision.
The 2022 annual report acknowledges the significant contribution made by the Honourable Jean-Pierre Plouffe, the first Intelligence Commissioner of Canada. It was under his direction that the Office of the Intelligence Commissioner was established pursuant to the Intelligence Commissioner Act in 2019 as part of the changes to Canada's national security framework. The decisions rendered during his tenure, up to September 2022, set the foundation in the application of the new legislation's quasi-judicial mandate.
"I hope this report will give Canadians a better understanding of the mandate of the Intelligence Commissioner, which is essential to the furtherance of national security interests, individual rights and freedoms, and public transparency. I look forward to continuing to share the results of my work with Canadians."
- The Honourable Simon Noël, K.C.
Intelligence Commissioner
The annual report is available on the Office of the Intelligence Commissioner's website: https://www.canada.ca/en/intelligence-commissioner.html.
SOURCE Office of the Intelligence Commissioner
For questions relating to this report, please communicate with: Justin Dubois, Executive Director and General Counsel, Office of the Intelligence Commissioner, [email protected]
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