Annual Report to the Minister of National Defence: Application of the Act and the Directions to DND/CAF for Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities 2024
(U) Executive Summary
(U) Preamble
(U) This report by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) is presented to the Minister of National Defence (MND) pursuant to the Governor‑in‑Council’s Directions for Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities (the 2019 Directions), which were issued as follow-on direction to the 2019 Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (the Act).
(U) The information contained in this report reflects the period from 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. Its contents describe how DND/CAF’s authorized defence activities were conducted within the constraints of the statutory obligations of the Act and the follow-on directions including the 2022 Ministerial Direction (MD), the 2022 Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Deputy Minister (DM) Directions, and the 2021 Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) Functional Directive (FD).
(U) In accordance with paragraph 18 of the Ministerial Direction to the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces: Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities (the 2022 MD), the classified version of this report includes:
- a detailed description of the total number of cases deliberated for substantial risk of mistreatment to individuals by DND/CAF in 2024;
- an explanation of any cases assessed to present an immitigable risk of mistreatment to individuals; and,
- updates on the implementation of the policy suite associated with the Act.
(U) The unclassified version of this report includes the contents described above without containing information:
- the disclosure of which would be injurious to national security, national defence or international relations or compromise an ongoing operation or investigation; or
- that is subject to solicitor-client privilege or the professional secrecy of advocates and notaries or to litigation privilege.
(U) Introduction
(U) This is the seventh annual report released since the introduction of the MD in 2017, which preceded the 2019 Act of Parliament. No foreign entities were assessed to present an immitigable substantial risk of mistreatment to individuals by DND/CAF in 2024.
(U)Context
(U) The Government of Canada relies on DND and the CAF to fulfil their complementary mandates through the implementation of Canada’s updated (2024) defence policy Our North, Strong and Free (ONSAF): A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, which builds on the 2017 defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) and Canada’s 2022 NORAD modernization plan. Through SSE and ONSAF, the CAF is tasked with defending Canada’s sovereignty, including in the Arctic, while making tangible contributions to its bilateral and multilateral commitments in North America and internationally.
(U) Canada’s bilateral and multilateral relations, particularly with its Five Eyes (FVEY) partners and the NATO Alliance, are enabled through the routine, often reciprocal, sharing of information and intelligence. Canada’s ability to share the right information, at the right time, with the appropriate partner, will remain crucial to its most important relationships and ability to unequivocally defend Canadian interests in a fast-changing world.
(U) While the Government of Canada is committed to defending Canada and promoting Canadian interests in North America and abroad, it is equally committed to upholding Canadian values in doing so. Canada condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the use of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Canada’s Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (the Act) therefore facilitates government departments and agencies to share information and intelligence with partners under the constraints of Canada’s core legal principles and values.
(U) Since the Act was legislated in 2019, DND/CAF has developed a robust follow-on policy suite to guide personnel in assessing the substantial risk of mistreatment to individuals when sharing information or intelligence during the course of authorized defence activities.
(U)Current Defence Landscape
(U) The CAF continued its support of Canada’s security and prosperity in an increasingly complex operating environment into 2024, particularly through the objectives outlined in Canada’s 2024 strategic defence policy update.
(U) In a constantly evolving threat environment, CAF personnel deployed to multiple concurrent named operations including Operations REASSURANCE, UNIFIER, PROTEUS, NEON, HORIZON, IMPACT, and ARTEMIS.
(U) In addition to deploying CAF personnel to serve Canadians and Canadian interests internationally, DND/CAF continued to maintain Canada’s most important defence relationships with its Five Eyes partners in support of continental defence and maintaining the rules-based international order.
(U) Report
(U) Policy and Governance Framework
(U) The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) maintain a robust policy suite to guide the operational commands — Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) and the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM) — in sharing information and intelligence with foreign entities during the course of their authorized defence activities.
(U) The extant Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) Functional Directive (FD), entitled “Chief of Defence Intelligence Functional Directive: DND/CAF Information Sharing Activities with Foreign Entities,” was updated in May 2024. The updated (2024 vice 2021) CDI Functional Directive provides operational users greater clarity in the application of the Human Rights Assessment Program to advise commanders as to the probability of mistreatment issues as a fundamental component of the military planning process.
(U)Governance
(U) The Defence Information Sharing Working Group (DISWG) remains the primary committee that enables subject-matter experts from the Strategic Joint Staff, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Office of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Legal Advisor, CFINTCOM, CJOC, CANSOFCOM, and the Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy) to provide near real-time advice to operational commanders on issues relating to information sharing, including cases of potential, substantial risk of mistreatment to individuals.
(U) The Defence Information Sharing Advisory Committee (DISAC), comprised of senior leaders from the organizations mentioned above, serves as the advisory committee to the Deputy Minister (DM) and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The DISAC convenes in exceptional circumstances when the DISWG reaches an impasse and/or an operational commander, in the face of high confidence, life saving intelligence, is unable to derive a mitigation strategy to bring the risk of mistreatment below the substantial threshold and requires higher level direction.
(U) Although the DISAC did not convene in 2024, the DM and CDS were apprised of issues brought to the DISWG through Records of Discussion (RoDs) from each meeting, and through intelligence reporting provided by CFINTCOM. Since its inception in 2019, the DISWG has reached decision through consensus and/or provided the affected operational command with the advice it required to make informed decisions. Throughout, the CDS and DM remain informed of issues brought to the DISWG and operational commanders provided the opportunity to convene a DISAC should they feel necessary
(U) Information sharing
(U) Update from 2023 DISWG Cases
(U) The DISWG convened on five occasions in 2023.
(U)Information Sharing Items Elevated to the DISWG in 2024
(U) In 2024, the DISWG convened on six occasions.
(U) DND/CAF continued to support the Information Sharing Coordination Group (ISCG) in 2024 by attending interdepartmental meetings and finding ways to collaborate with OGD/As on joint responsibilities under the Act (2019).
(U) Reflections on the implementation of the Act in 2024
(U) Training and awareness of responsibilities under the Act
(U) DND/CAF supports the fulfilment of its obligations under the Act through a comprehensive training and accreditation process.
(U) CFINTCOM RDCO released its updated Release and Disclosure Officer and Release and Disclosure Authority Training Course on the Defence Learning Network (DLN) in 2023. RDCO also made the course available to Other Government Department/Agency (OGD/A) employees as well as FVEY personnel within the intelligence community at that time.
(U) CFINTCOM led the training and qualification of 178 DND/CAF personnel in 2024 of which 73 were accredited. All DND/CAF personnel receive the qualification upon their successful completion of the course; however, only some personnel are eligible to receive an additional five-year accreditationFootnote 1. A total of four personnel took the training outside of DND/CAF in 2024: one OGD/A employee and three FVEY partners. Over 900 DND/CAF personnel have completed the course to date, with a total of 392 personnel holding accreditation in 2024.
(U) Additionally, it remains relevant to note that CAF members are specifically required to complete mandatory training on their obligations with regard to human rights prior to deploying to an expeditionary named operation. This pre-deployment training includes instruction on International Humanitarian Law (i.e., the Law of Armed Conflict) including the Geneva Conventions, Hague Conventions, as well as other core international human rights instruments. In other words, CAF personnel are individually trained to ensure that their actions comply with all applicable laws, and that they are able to identify and avoid actual or potential violations.
(U) Implementation of the Human Rights Risk Assessment Program
(U) Country Human Rights Profiles: The development of Country Human Rights Profiles, which qualitatively summarize individual country and territory human rights records, then assign a quantitative score that rank its state of human rights, began in 2021. The profiles are accessible across the Defence Intelligence Enterprise and to Government of Canada and FVEY partners.
(U) CFINTCOM RDCO completed its initial development of all 192 profiles in 2023. Officials maintained them with a particular emphasis on countries rated medium (yellow) or high (red) risk in 2024. In other words, officials are in a position to monitor the defence and geopolitical landscape to ensure that the profiles are appropriately updated for relevance to the operational commands and senior executives. Officials may also update particular profiles based on a country or territory’s human rights situation (e.g., where it may be in decline or susceptible to trigger events, such as civil unrest).
(U) The Human Rights Risk Assessment Program was supported in 2024 through updates to 12 of its Country Human Rights Profiles and a revamp of the associated template to more closely align with OGD/A reporting and provide a more efficient end-user experience
(U) Partner Entity Assessments (PEA): A Partner Entity Assessment is a tool that operational commands use to determine whether sharing certain types of information with a specific partner in a country that has a medium or high-risk rating would result in a substantial risk of mistreatmentFootnote 2. The Assessment must be approved by the operational commander overseeing the defence activity prior to sharing information or intelligence with the partner entity.
(U) Transactional Assessments: Transactional Assessments document information sharing and mistreatment-related considerations prior to Release and Disclosure Officers/Authorities sharing information with a country or territory assessed to present a medium or high-risk of mistreatment to individuals.
(U) Information Exchange Plans for Operations: These plans are designed at the outset of an authorized named operation where it is reasonably expected that routine information or intelligence will be exchanged (on a frequency that would make Transactional Assessments prohibitive) during multilateral defence operations where at least one foreign partner has been assessed to be either medium or high-risk. For example, an Information Exchange Plan for Operations may be required, vice a Transactional Assessment, on a multinational operation in which sharing information or intelligence is the inherent purpose of the operation.
(U) Collaboration with other government departments and agencies
(U) DND/CAF continued to strengthen its collaborative relationships with OGD/As. In an effort to reasonably support a coherent risk rating methodology between the core National Security and Intelligence partners, DND/CAF participated in the third annual Human Rights Summit in December 2024. The participants discussed each organization’s methodology for their country human rights assessments, which allowed officials to identify consistencies as well as gaps in their respective processes.
(U) Next steps
(U) DND/CAF will continue to refine its policy suite in a manner that enables DND/CAF personnel, to understand their responsibilities under the Act. Activities identified to support this work in 2024-25 include:
- (U) A review of completed PEA across the Defence Intelligence Enterprise. CFINTCOM RDCO will work closely with CFINTCOM’s Directorate of Intelligence Review and Compliance and the operational commands to review extant PEAs and ensure that new ones are developed as required.
- Maintain our commitment to amend National Defence Security Orders and Directives (NDSOD), an instrument that articulates the security obligations and responsibilities of all DND/CAF personnel. Amendments will include the addition of a specific reference concerning the obligation of personnel to avoid complicity in mistreatment by foreign entities; and
- (U) Maintenance of evergreen Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs). The SOPs will help to ensure that all lines of effort across CFINTCOM RDCO are undertaken consistently and in compliance with the Act and its subordinate direction.
(U) Conclusion
(U) No immitigable substantial risks of mistreatment to individuals occurred in 2024.
(U) CFINTCOM RDCO held six DISWGs to provide timely policy advice to operational commands.
(U) DND/CAF participated in engagements with OGD/As, such as the Human Rights Summit that provided core Security and Intelligence ISCG members an opportunity to explore how the Government might be able to implement, or at least partially implement, NSIRA recommendations.
(U) DND/CAF will continue to refine assessment tools and policy guidance to help DND employees and CAF members pursue authorized defence information sharing activities while ensuring compliance with the Act.