Ministerial Authorizations
A ministerial authorization is a written document which gives CSE or CSIS permission to carry out certain specified
activities in support of their responsibilities in protecting Canada's national security and collecting foreign intelligence.
For CSE, a ministerial authorization is issued by the Minister of National Defence. For CSIS, a ministerial authorization is
issued by the Minister of Public Safety or, in some cases, the Director of CSIS.
The power to issue a ministerial authorization is an important responsibility, since it allows these agencies to undertake
activities that contravene the laws of Canada or another country, or potentially infringe on the privacy interests of
Canadians and persons in Canada. Before CSE or CSIS can carry out the activities included in a ministerial authorization,
the authorization must be approved by the IC. Ministerial authorizations are valid for up to one year following IC approval,
except for a ministerial authorization to retain a foreign dataset collected by CSIS, which is valid for up to five years.
While the content of ministerial authorizations is not publicly available, the CSE Act and the CSIS Act, as well as IC decisions
published on the ICO website provide details on the information that is included:
- the facts that gave the Minister or the Director the information they needed to decide that the authorization met the legislative requirements for it to be issued
- the reasons explaining how the legislative requirements have been met
- detailed explanations of the activities to be carried out and how they fit into the permitted categories set out in legislation
- examples illustrating the full scope of the activities being authorized or the classes being determined
- any terms and conditions considered advisable in the public interest
- policy measures and procedures in place to protect Canadian privacy interests and ensure respect for the rule of law
- reporting requirements
- the proposed period for which the authorization would be valid
In the case of CSE, IC approval is required for ministerial authorizations related to:
CSIS requires IC approval for ministerial authorizations related to:
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