2022-2023 Departmental Plan - Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians

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From the Executive Director

It is my pleasure to present the 2022-23 Departmental Plan for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. This document provides a summary of the Secretariat’s planned activities for its fifth full year of operations.

Since its establishment in 2017, the Secretariat has supported the Committee in conducting eight comprehensive reviews of Canada’s national security and intelligence community, covering a broad range of organizations and issues. The reviews have helped strengthen parliamentarians’ and Canadians’ understanding of the security and intelligence community and the broader national security landscape in Canada.

The Secretariat will continue to support the Committee’s two current reviews, regarding the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada, and the federal policing mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The reviews were announced in September 2020 and February 2021 respectively.

The Secretariat will support the Committee’s decision-making on its 2022-23 review plan, and assist in the conduct of those reviews. This will include working with the Committee to build its knowledge of Canada’s security and intelligence community. We will also support its engagement with academics, non-governmental experts and other civil society actors to obtain a diverse range of perspectives on the issues of national security and intelligence, and to discuss rights, freedoms and security. Depending on existing public health conditions, the Secretariat will adjust its objectives at the direction of the Committee.

In contributing to the Committee’s forthcoming review cycle, the Secretariat will support the Committee’s focus on issues of accountability, efficacy and democratic principles. Ultimately, the work the Secretariat does to support the Committee enhances the performance and accountability of Canada’s security and intelligence community and strengthens public knowledge of issues that are of profound importance to Canadians.

We look forward to supporting the Committee’s agenda for 2022-23.

Lisa-Marie Inman
Executive Director

Plans at a glance

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and its Secretariat were established in June 2017 by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act (the NSCIOP Act). The Prime Minister formally established the third iteration of the Committee with his appointment of new membership on January 20, 2022.

The 2022-23 fiscal year will mark five full years of operation for the Secretariat. Despite the continued prevalence of COVID-19, the Committee and its Secretariat maintain an ambitious agenda, including the completion of two substantive reviews.

Highlights of the Secretariat’s planned work include:

• Briefing the new Committee on its statutory mandate, its obligations, past and ongoing reviews, and strengthening its understanding of the security and intelligence community;
• Supporting the completion of the Committee’s review of the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada;
• Supporting the completion of the Committee’s review of the federal policing mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
• Supporting the completion of the Committee’s 2022 Annual Report, which will include a comprehensive overview of the Committee’s activities in the past year;
• Supporting the Committee’s deliberations on its forthcoming review cycle;
• Supporting the Committee’s engagement with the security and intelligence community, international partners and stakeholders, including academics, nongovernmental organizations and civil rights actors, to help build a broader perspective on the issues facing the security and intelligence community; and
• Supporting the Committee’s engagement with Parliament on the five year review of the Committee, as required by the NSICOP Act.

For more information on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ plans, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this plan.

Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks

This section contains information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities

Description

The core responsibility of the Secretariat is to ensure Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities in Canada thereby contributing to enhanced transparency and accountability of the national security framework.

Planning highlights

As its overarching planned result, the Secretariat will directly contribute to the enhancement of transparency and accountability of the national security framework. In support of this outcome, the Secretariat will focus its efforts in 2022-23 on supporting the Committee’s reviews. It will ensure that the Committee’s Annual Report includes comprehensive overviews of reviews it conducted in the preceding year, and that it is delivered to the Prime Minister.

In the initial stage of 2022-23, the Secretariat will welcome and brief the new Committee. Pursuant to the NSICOP Act, members of the Committee hold office until the dissolution of Parliament during an election, with new members reappointed within 60 days after the day on which Parliament is summoned to sit. Following the federal election in September 2021, a new Committee was appointed on January 20, 2022. The Secretariat will brief the Committee on its statutory mandate and ensure that Committee members are aware of their obligations under the NSICOP Act. The Secretariat will also ensure that the Committee is aware of previous reviews while strengthening its understanding of the national security and intelligence community.

Following the Committee’s introductory briefings, the Secretariat will support the Committee’s conduct of ongoing reviews. The first review, announced in September 2020, will examine the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada. These activities, and Global Affairs Canada’s broader role within the security and intelligence community, have never been subject to an external, independent review. This review will establish a baseline knowledge of these activities.

The second review, announced in February 2021, will examine the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s federal policing mandate. The federal policing mandate covers a broad range of activities, including protective policing, international policing, national security investigations, the investigation of sophisticated crime, including cybercrime, organized crime and transnational crime, and specialized policing services. The Committee’s review will establish a baseline knowledge of this broad and complex mandate by examining federal policing programs, activities and authorities; the capabilities and results of those programs and activities; and the roles played by the RCMP’s domestic and international partners.

Both of these reviews are anticipated to be provided to the Prime Minister in 2022.

The Secretariat will also support the Committee’s deliberations on its forthcoming review cycle. As a part of this process, the Secretariat will develop review proposals for the Committee’s consideration, draft the review’s terms of reference and request documents from departments to support the review. The Secretariat will conduct research and analysis to develop the reviews for the Committee’s consideration and approval. The Secretariat will also organize briefings and appearances with members of the security and intelligence community and civil society as necessary.

Starting in June 2022, the Secretariat will support the Committee’s engagement with Parliament for the five year review of the NSICOP Act. Under section 34 of the NSICOP Act, a comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the NSICOP Act is to be conducted by one or both houses of Parliament. The Secretariat will work to ensure the Committee is prepared for the review and adjust its work plans at the Committee’s direction, if necessary.

Finally, the Secretariat will support the completion of the Committee’s 2022 Annual Report. This report will contain a comprehensive overview of the Committee’s work in 2022, including the reviews that it completed.

Throughout the year, the Secretariat will facilitate the Committee’s engagement with national security and intelligence stakeholders. It will organize briefings with senior officials within Canada’s security and intelligence community on subjects pertinent to the Committee’s work. The Secretariat will also support the Committee’s engagement with academics, non-governmental organizations and civil society actors to help build a broader perspective on the issues facing the security and intelligence community. The Secretariat will continue to develop relations with other organizations that review national security and intelligence in Canada, notably the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency.

Gender-based analysis plus

The Secretariat is comprised of eight full-time equivalents with diverse backgrounds, professional experiences and competencies and an appropriate mix of research and analytical skills.

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Committee completed a baseline review of diversity and inclusion across Canada’s security and intelligence community. The review identified a number of challenges, including the underrepresentation of members of visible minorities across many organizations in the community and inconsistent monitoring and analysis of employment equity goals and initiatives.

The Committee continues to be seized with this issue and, with the support of the Secretariat, may conduct a retrospective review in one to three years to assess the security and intelligence community’s progress in achieving and implementing its diversity goals and inclusion initiatives.

Experimentation

The Secretariat does not conduct any experimentation as part of the review process.

Key risks

The NSICOP Act establishes the Committee’s mandate, its right of access to information and the limitations to that right of access. During previous reviews, some organizations delayed the provision of information or did not provide requested material relevant to the review that was within the scope of the Committee’s work and statutory rights of access. Should this continue, the ability of the Committee to fulfill its statutory mandate will be compromised. In mitigating the risk, the Secretariat continues to engage members of the security and intelligence community to clarify the Committee’s statutory right to receive information. In 2021, the Secretariat finalized the Committee’s procedures, which provide departments with additional information on the Committee’s work and assist in building productive working relationships.

Pursuant to the NSICOP Act, members of the Committee hold office until the dissolution of Parliament. In a minority Parliament, there is a risk that the dissolution of Parliament would interrupt or delay the completion of the Committee’s reviews.

As in the previous fiscal year, the Secretariat is aware that planned results may be affected by the events of COVID-19 and public health restrictions to limit its spread. The Secretariat will work with the Committee to ensure the safety of in-person Committee work, and where possible conduct orientation visits to key members of the security and intelligence community, international travel and public engagements. If necessary, the Secretariat will adjust these plans at the Committee’s direction. The Secretariat carefully monitors and follows public health guidelines to ensure the safety of its employees.

Planned results for Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities

The following table shows, for Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022–23, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

The financial, human resources and performance information for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities

The following table shows, for Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities

The following table shows, in full-time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022–23 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Internal services: planned results

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Planning highlights

The Secretariat is entering its fifth year of operation and has refined its financial planning methods and is more narrowly defining expenditures associated with its functions and activities. Notably, the Secretariat is attributing the following expenses and activities to internal services: the memoranda of understanding with the Privy Council Office for corporate, administrative, information technology services and security support; and legal counsel. This approach will ensure greater consistency with standard practice.

Planned budgetary spending for internal services

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2022–23, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for internal services

The following table shows, in full-time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to carry out its internal services for 2022–23 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2022–23 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2019–20 to 2024–25

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

 

The variances in year over year spending are attributable to a number of factors. In 2019-20, the Committee was dissolved following the call of the 43rd general election in September 2019. Pursuant to the NSICOP Act, members of the Committee hold office until the dissolution of Parliament, with new members reappointed within 60 days after the day on which Parliament is summoned to sit. Therefore, the majority of the Secretariat’s operational activities in support of the Committee ceased for a four-month period within the 2019-20 fiscal year.

In 2020-21, spending was significantly reduced due to restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. In order to abide by these restrictions, the Secretariat facilitated Committee meetings through the use of teleconference or secure video-conferencing. These activities reduced the cost of meetings compared to the previous year, with fewer requirements for travel, hospitality and simultaneous translation. In addition, neither Committee members nor members of the Secretariat undertook international travel during the year, further reducing costs. While these responses reduced costs, they also had deleterious effects on the ability of the Secretariat to assist the Committee in fulfilling its statutory mandate to conduct reviews of the security and intelligence community: cancelled meetings, deferred work and lost opportunities for engaging officials, civil society and the private sector.

In 2021-22, spending remained reduced due to ongoing restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. Similar to the previous year, meeting costs were largely reduced. In addition, the Committee was dissolved following the call of the 44th general election in August 2021. As in 2019, the majority of the Secretariat’s operational activities in support of the Committee ceased for a four-month period within the 2021-22 fiscal year.

In January 2021, the Secretariat received Treasury Board approval for ongoing funding over four years to continue its operations. As a result, the Secretariat will be able to continue to assist the Committee in fulfilling its mandate.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022–23 and other relevant fiscal years.

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ funding profile remains relatively constant year over year. Year over year variances pertain primarily to the reduced costs of Committee meetings due to restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the dissolution of the Committee due to elections, as explained above.

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022–23 and the other relevant years.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ human resources profile reflects the timing of its full operationalization. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Secretariat operated with one vacancy and implemented temporary measures to address this gap. In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the Secretariat hired one additional staff member but operated with additional vacancies due to regular turnover within the organization, including the retirement of its former Executive Director. A new Executive Director was appointed in the 2021-22 fiscal year, and the Secretariat has facilitated additional staffing competitions to ensure that it has a full staff complement of 10 full-time equivalents in 2022-23 and thereafter.

Estimates by vote

Information on Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ organizational appropriations is available in the 2022–23 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ operations for 2021–22 to 2022–23.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ website.

Future oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2023 (dollars)

Corporate information

Organizational profile

• Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Mark Holland, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
• Institutional head: Lisa-Marie Inman
• Ministerial portfolio: Privy Council Office
• Enabling instrument(s): National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act
• Year of incorporation / commencement: 2017

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

The Secretariat’s core responsibility consists of assisting the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians in fulfilling its mandate as outlined in section 8(1) of the NSICOP Act, which is to review:

• The legislative, regulatory, policy, administrative and financial framework for national security and intelligence;
• Any activity carried out by a department that relates to national security or intelligence, unless the activity is an ongoing operation and the appropriate Minister determines that the review would be injurious to national security; and
• Any matter relating to national security or intelligence that a minister of the Crown refers to the Committee.

The Secretariat ensures the Committee receives timely access to relevant, classified information and strategic and expert advice in the exercise of Committee reviews. It assists in the development of Committee reports and provides support to ensure compliance with security requirements.

From a corporate accountability perspective and as required by section 3 of the NSICOP Act, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is the designated Minister responsible for the Secretariat.

Information on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ raison d’être, mandate and role is available on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ website.

Operating context

The establishment of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians addressed an important gap in the review of Canada’s security and intelligence community. Review in Canada previously centred on specific organizations and did not contemplate wider issues. The specialized review apparatus focused individually on the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Communications Security Establishment and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. No entity previously had the authority, mandate or capacity to ‘follow the thread’ of how information was shared and used or to review an issue, activity or case across those organizations or in the government more broadly.

The siloed nature of the review apparatus in Canada meant that there was no review across the broader federal government to other organizations with security and intelligence responsibilities. Furthermore, specialized review bodies primarily examined the legal compliance of activities but could not conduct strategic or framework reviews of the security and intelligence community as a whole. Moreover, unlike its closest allies, Canada did not have a parliamentary or legislative review body with access to classified information that could examine national security and intelligence organizations.

The establishment of the Committee in 2017 and the subsequent creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency in 2019 address these gaps. Both review bodies may conduct reviews of any organization with a security and intelligence mandate; may follow the thread of information or investigations across organizations; and review issues from an interdepartmental lens. The review bodies have complementary mandates: the Committee’s mandate is to conduct high-level strategic or framework reviews and enables Parliamentarians to scrutinize the security and intelligence activities of the state, while the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency’s mandate is focused on legal compliance reviews.

Information on the operating context is available on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ website.

Reporting framework

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2022–23 are as follows.

 

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ website:

• Reporting on Green Procurement
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government‑wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.

Organizational contact information

• Mailing address:
  Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
  P.O. Box 8015, Station “T”
  Ottawa, Ontario
  K1G 5A6
• Email: generalinquiries-renseignementsgeneraux@nsicop-cpsnr.gc.ca
• Website

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform decision-making and improve outcomes for Canadians. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from, innovation. Innovation is the trying of something new; experimentation involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, introducing a new mobile application to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new application and comparing it against an existing website or other tools to see which one reaches more people, is experimentation.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2022-23 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: protecting Canadians from COVID-19; helping Canadians through the pandemic; building back better – a resiliency agenda for the middle class; and the Canada we’re fighting for.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

 

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.