Statement from Defence Minister Sajjan on Bringing Openness, Transparency, and Clarity to New Ministerial Directions
Statements
December 14, 2017 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
“In keeping with the Government’s commitment to keep Canadians safe and uphold human rights and the rule of law, I am pleased to announce that I have issued new Ministerial Directions to the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), as well as the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) on avoiding complicity in mistreatment by foreign entities.
“On September 25th, 2017, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale issued similar Ministerial Directions to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
“The Government of Canada unequivocally condemns in the strongest possible terms the mistreatment of any individual by anyone for any purpose.
“Torture is a criminal offence, and is contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and prohibited by international law. Our Government works for Canadians, who expect us to be diligent and careful in preventing complicity in mistreatment when conducting our intelligence and defence operations.
“The Directions I am providing respond directly to concerns Canadians expressed in the Government’s public consultations on national security. They clarify and strengthen the measures on the disclosure or requesting of information that would result in a substantial risk of mistreatment. They also prohibit certain use of information likely obtained through mistreatment, except when it is absolutely necessary to prevent loss of life or significant personal injury.
“In addition to strengthening our measures, we have committed to bolstering our accountability structure, by putting new reporting requirements in place. This will include annual reporting to myself and to Canadians through the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and other existing review bodies. Under Bill C-59 (the National Security Act, 2017), the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians will hold the review function currently administered by other review bodies.”
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- Ministerial Direction to the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces: Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities
- Ministerial Direction to the Communications Security Establishment: Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities
- Bringing openness, transparency, and clarity to new Ministerial Directions
- Department of National Defence Twitter
Information:
Byrne Furlong
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of National Defence
(613) 996-3100
Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-996-2353