Minister’s Role and Accountabilities
Overall direction to CSIS
- Issue directions to the Director (e.g. intelligence priorities, operations, accountability, threats to Parliament and Parliamentarians ).
Warrants
- Approve applications to the Federal Court for warrants for more intrusive collection techniques and for certain threat reduction measures.
Authorization
Justification Framework
- Determine the classes of acts or omissions.
- Designate CSIS employees and senior employees under the framework.
Datasets Framework
- Determine the classes of Canadian datasets CSIS may collect.
- Approve applications to the Federal Court for the retention of Canadian datasets.
Domestic & Foreign Arrangements
- Approve arrangements with federal departments, provincial governments, and police forces as well as foreign partners.
Foreign Intelligence
- Authorize CSIS to collect foreign intelligence, further to a request from the Minister of Foreign Affairs or National Defence.
Transparency, Review and Accountability
Notification by CSIS
- Publish an annual report on the justification framework.
- Table the CSIS Annual Public Report in Parliament.
- May refer a national security matter to a review body.
- Provide the Attorney General with a report from the Director on possible unlawful activities.
- Provided with a classified annual report of CSIS’ operational activities.
- Notified prior to CSIS undertaking high risk operations or operational activities where a novel authority, technique, or technology is used.