Below is a copy of the contents of the following Government of Canada webpage as it appeared on May 8, 2012: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/abt/wwa/igcsis/cert2001-eng.aspx.

Click here to return to the menu of the Archive of CSIS Inspector General Annual Certificate reports.


Submitted to:

Solicitor General of Canada pursuant to Subsection 33(2) of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act

This is the text of the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s 2001 Certificate Made Public (January 2002) Pursuant to a Request Under Canada’s Access to Information Act.
(The 2001 Certificate was classified TOP SECRET when submitted to the Solicitor General of Canada in December 2001)
(The symbol [––] represents classified information removed from the document.)

Forward [sic]

Section 33 (2) of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act requires that I submit to you a Certificate stating the extent to which I am satisfied with the Director’s Annual Report to you. It also provides that I state whether, in my opinion, the Service has done anything, in the time period covered by the report, which is not authorized by the Act, has contravened any Ministerial Directions, or has involved the unreasonable or unnecessary use of its powers.

Revised Annual Report

As you may recall, the Director and I agreed last year that his future Annual Reports to you would be relatively brief but would focus on the highlights of the Service’s activities for the reporting period, and include any serious issues with respect to operational activities, public policy, potential controversy, and anticipated challenges in fulfilling the Service’s mandate. In other words, the report would contain only information of sufficient importance to be of interest to you. Supplementary detailed data and information of the kind included in last year’s Annual Report would continue to be available for examination by the Deputy Solicitor General, the Security Intelligence Review Committee, and my Office. In order to keep the Report concise and focused, any reporting requirements set out in Ministerial Directions could be addressed separately from the Director’s Annual Report.

This year’s shorter Annual Report contains substantive information on the Service’s activities and is no longer encumbered by lengthy background material that remains unchanged from year to year. It is now a more personalized report submitted by the Director – the public officeholder with statutory authority for the control and management of the Service – to the Solicitor General – the Minister with statutory responsibility for giving direction to the Director. In my view, the transformation of the form and content of the Report results in more precise and effective support for your Ministerial responsibility for the Service.

Certification: Director’s Annual Report

I am fully satisfied with the Director’s Annual Report to you for the period 2000-2001. In my opinion, apart from the one exception referred to below, the Service has not acted beyond the framework of its statutory authority, has not contravened any Ministerial Directions, and has not exercised its powers unreasonably or unnecessarily. I am also in a position to assure you that the matters discussed by the Director in his Report are an accurate reflection of the Service’s operational activities during the reporting period.

Generally speaking, it is my view that in preparing a Certificate for you, I must examine the Director’s Report through the lens of the knowledge and information acquired by my staff over our entire work cycle of 12 months. Because my office was fully staffed during this period, this Certificate is based upon considerably more information than was the Certificate I submitted to you last year.

Our work cycle consists of: core reviews of warrants, targets and human sources undertaken each year; studies selected for the current year (e.g., detailed reviews of significant CSIS operations); a series of comprehensive briefings given to us by the Service; and the regular discussions I have with senior management at Headquarters and in the field.

The knowledge that my staff and I acquired during the year was supplemented by a detailed validation exercise of the information provided in the Director’s Annual Report for 2000-2001. This exercise consisted of a comprehensive inspection of CSIS Branch Accountability Reports, a full review of the lengthy facting documentation on which these reports were based, and discussions with CSIS staff. This is the review work upon which the conclusions in this Certificate are based.

Other issues

Impact of the attacks on New York and Washington

The events of September 11th and the U.S.-led Coalition’s War on Terrorism are placing considerable pressure on the Service. In recognition of these special circumstances, the Government is allocating additional resources and Parliament is being asked to approve legislative proposals to ensure inter alia that the Service has the needed capacity and appropriate tools to fulfil the public safety requirements of its mandate.

In this context, the principle of democratic control of the operations of a security intelligence service, exercised through Ministerial responsibility, acquires even greater importance for institutions such as this Office. An appropriate balance must always be sought between national security and public safety on the one hand, and the maintenance of the rights and liberties of Canadians on the other. I shall be particularly mindful of these considerations in my work in the year ahead, and will report to you should any issue of significant importance to you arise.

Client/user satisfaction

I am impressed with the Service’s maintenance of a streamlined process to gauge client satisfaction and requirements in the collection of intelligence under section 16 of the Act.

Unlawful activities

As you know, the Director is rigorous in his reporting to you of possible unlawful acts committed in the performance of the duties and functions of the Service. One such report was submitted during 2000-2001, and you forwarded it to the Attorney General of Canada, as required by the Act. [––]. I shall be following the disposition of this matter by the Attorney General of Canada.

Conclusion

In my view, the nature and scope of the Director’s first Annual Report to you in the new format augurs well for the future. I look forward to further enhancements and improvements to ensure that your Ministerial responsibility is appropriately supported by the Service. Insofar as the year 2000-2001 is concerned, I can assure you with some confidence that the Director’s report fairly reflects the Service’s activities during the period, and that CSIS is conducting its operational activities within the letter and spirit of the Act in an effective and professional manner.