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Summary of the Meeting of the National Security Transparency Advisory Group (NS-TAG) December 6-7, 2024

Held in Ottawa Ontario

Attendees:

Regrets:

Guests Speakers:

National Security Community Members Present (as observers):

Public Safety Canada (PS), Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), CSIS, RCMP, CSE, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Department of National Defence (DND/CAF), and Transport Canada (TC).

Meeting Theme:

Agenda:

Meeting Summary

The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss the preliminary findings from the 2024 Stocktaking Exercise, conducted by the NS-TAG with support from the Transparency Secretariat at Public Safety Canada. The Stocktaking Exercise, initiated in the summer of 2024, assessed the implementation of recommendations from the NS-TAG's first three reports: What We Heard In Our First Year; The Definition, Measurement, and Institutionalization of Transparency in National Security; and, How National Security and Intelligence Institutions Engage with Racialized Communities.This exercise aimed to evaluate how well these recommendations have been adopted by national security departments and agencies, as part of advancing the National Security Transparency Commitment (NSTC).

NS-TAG members engaged officials from CSE, the RCMP and CSIS on their responses to the Stocktaking Exercise. These discussions provided additional insights into their progress and challenges in implementing the recommendations.

On the second day, NS-TAG members dedicated time to the preparation of their fifth report, which will cover the results of the Stocktaking Exercise, and is planned for release in 2025.

Key Takeaways of the Discussion:

The NS-TAG emphasized that building public trust in national security requires clear communication about threats, transparency regarding government efforts, and public awareness of Canadians' role in protecting Canada. A "whole-of-society" approach was highlighted as a way to engage Canadians as active participants in national security efforts.

A total of 17 departments and agencies responded to the Stocktaking Exercise, demonstrating a broad commitment by Canada's national security community to transparency. However, not all responses were directly relevant to national security. Progress was noted in the adoption of transparency statements and institutionalized initiatives across agencies. Members underscored the importance of not only measuring the existence of transparency initiatives, but also evaluating their success. A recurring concern was the tendency for agencies to engage in transactional interactions with communities rather than fostering meaningful, cooperative dialogue.

CSE showcased several proactive initiatives aimed at enhancing transparency and fostering public trust. These efforts include a comprehensive approach to strategic communications, leveraging publications, threat assessments, and an active presence on multiple platforms, including three websites and 17 social media channels. They have also emphasized public threat dissemination, using tools like CIRA Canadian Shield platform, which automatically shares public threat information to increase awareness and resilience among Canadians. To ensure accessibility, CSE has translated key resources into Indigenous languages, reflecting their commitment to engaging with diverse communities.

In terms of workforce development, the CSE has placed significant focus on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA). Recruitment initiatives have targeted underrepresented groups through tailored outreach efforts, such as partnerships with organizations like HackerGal, which promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education for young women. They have also engaged with local schools through coding workshops and career days with groups like Black Youth Code to inspire interest in careers at CSE. Additionally, the Indigenous Career Navigator Program has been instrumental in increasing recruitment in Indigenous communities. Despite these proactive measures, CSE acknowledged persistent challenges in balancing operational secrecy with the need for transparency. While their transparency efforts aim to foster resilience through public awareness, maintaining this balance is complex, as it requires safeguarding sensitive information while being open enough to build public trust and awareness.

The RCMP highlighted several efforts aimed at improving transparency and community engagement. A dedicated transparency team has been established to foster a culture of openness and accountability across the organization. The team has focused on designing policies, consultation tools, and frameworks, such as a consultation platform, which has been piloted to gather insights and develop a system for effectively communicating with the public about policies, documents, and other initiatives. Additionally, they have created a comprehensive framework, including a guidebook and toolkit, to support meaningful outreach and engagement efforts. Despite these advances, the RCMP acknowledged capacity constraints that often result in prioritizing investigations over proactive engagement. They also emphasized the importance of building relationships with racialized and diaspora communities to address issues such as foreign interference and public safety concerns. While progress has been made, the RCMP recognizes that significant work remains to ensure their transparency and engagement efforts achieve meaningful outcomes.

CSIS emphasized its commitment to continue efforts to "lean in" on transparency, releasing more information than ever about its activities and the threat environment, noting the 2023 Public Report, and to leverage new authorities granted under Bill C-70. Amendments to the CSIS Act Disclosure Authorities authorize CSIS to share information with persons or entities outside the Government of Canada for the purposes of building resiliency, to prevent threats before they materialize. CSIS has also taken significant strides in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This is also an example of CSIS's transparency efforts, as CSIS is the first intelligence agency globally to publish its comprehensive DEI strategy, which not only outlines its commitments but also includes specific metrics to track progress. These metrics are shared both internally and externally to ensure accountability and demonstrate tangible outcomes. CSIS also described its extensive activities in engaging partners, and CSIS's approach in terms of engagement being a two-way street and stressing co-development, such as CSIS's commitments related to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Action Plan. Several NS-TAG members noted the positive impact of CSIS's engagement activities with ethnic, cultural and religious communities and how it has increased trust. However, NS-TAG members raised concerns about consultation fatigue and the lack of coherence across national security agencies in their stakeholder engagement approaches.

NS-TAG members highlighted that even if there is still a lot of room for improvement, there has been positive progress on transparency initiatives across the government. They reiterated the importance of implementing a whole-of-society approach to national security issues that would involve meaningful engagement with Canadians, finding synergies and building trust across all levels of government and civil society.

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