National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act (S.C. 2017, c. 15)

Procedure

Marginal note:Meetings — all of Chair

17 The Committee is to meet at the call of the Chair.

Marginal note:Meetings held in private

18 Meetings of the Committee are to be held in private if any information that a department is taking measures to protect is likely to be disclosed during the course of the meeting or if the Chair considers it to be otherwise necessary.

Marginal note:Voting

19 The Chair may vote at meetings of the Committee only in the case of a tie.

Marginal note:Procedure

20 Subject to the provisions of this Act and the regulations, the Committee may determine the procedure to be followed in the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of any of its duties or functions, including in respect of the appearance of persons before the Committee.

Reports

Marginal note:Annual report

• 21 (1) Each year the Committee must submit to the Prime Minister a report of the reviews it conducted during the preceding year. The report must contain

  • (a) the Committee’s findings;

  • (b) its recommendations, if any;

  • (c) any summary referred to in subsection (3); and

  • (d) the number of times in the preceding year that an appropriate Minister

    • (i) determined that a review referred to in paragraph 8(1)(b) would be injurious to national security, and

    • (ii) decided to refuse to provide information under subsection 16(1).

• Marginal note:Special report

  (2) If, in the Committee’s opinion, a special report on any matter related to its mandate is necessary, it may, at any time, submit such a report to the Prime Minister and the minister concerned.

• Marginal note:Summary of special report

  (3) The Committee may prepare a summary of a special report and, on submitting the report, must notify the Prime Minister of its intention to do so.

• Marginal note:Special report not to be tabled

  (4) Subsection (5) does not apply to a special report that is the subject of a notification under subsection (3) and that report is not to be laid before either House of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Direction to submit revised report

  (5) If, after consulting the Chair of the Committee, the Prime Minister is of the opinion that information in an annual or special report is information the disclosure of which would be injurious to national security, national defence or international relations or is information that is protected by litigation privilege or by solicitor-client privilege or the professional secrecy of advocates and notaries, the Prime Minister may direct the Committee to submit to the Prime Minister a revised version of the annual or special report that does not contain that information.

• Marginal note:Revised version of report

  (5.1) If the Committee is directed by the Prime Minister to submit a revised version, the revised version must be clearly identified as a revised version and must indicate the extent of, and the reasons for, the revisions.

• Marginal note:Tabling

  (6) Subject to subsection (4), the Prime Minister must cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, on any of the first 30 days on which that House is sitting after a report is submitted under subsection (1) or (2), a copy of the report or, if the Committee was directed to submit a revised version, a copy of the revised version.

• Marginal note:Referral

  (7) After it is tabled, the annual or special report stands referred to

  • (a) the Standing Committee on National Security and Defence of the Senate or, if there is not a Standing Committee on National Security and Defence, the appropriate committee of the Senate, as determined by its rules; and

  • (b) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security of the House of Commons or, if there is not a Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, the appropriate committee of the House of Commons, as determined by its rules.

Review Bodies

Marginal note:Provision of information to Committee

• 22 (1) Despite any provision of any other Act of Parliament — including section 45.47 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act — but subject to subsection (2), a review body may provide to the Committee information that is under its control and that is related to the fulfilment of the Committee’s mandate.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) The review body must not provide to the Committee

  • (a) information that is referred to in section 14; or

  • (b) information that is the subject of a decision that has been provided to the review body under subsection 16(3).

Marginal note:Provision of information to review bodies

23 The Committee may provide,

• (a) to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, information that is obtained from — or that is created by the Committee from information obtained from — the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and that is related to the fulfilment of that review body’s mandate; or

• (b) to the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, information that is related to the fulfilment of that review body’s mandate under paragraphs 8(1)(a) to (c) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act.

• (c) [Repealed, 2019, c. 13, s. 49]

Secretariat

Marginal note:Secretariat established

• 24 (1) The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is established.

• Marginal note:Role

  (2) The Secretariat is to assist the Committee in fulfilling its mandate.

• Marginal note:Office

  (3) The head office of the Secretariat is to be in the National Capital Region as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.

Marginal note:Executive director

• 25 (1) There is to be an executive director of the Secretariat, who is to be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure for a term of up to five years. The executive director is eligible to be reappointed on the expiry of a first or subsequent term of office.

• Marginal note:Deputy head

  (2) The executive director has the rank and all the powers of a deputy head of a department.

Marginal note:Absence or incapacity

26 If the executive director is absent or incapacitated or the office of executive director is vacant, the Minister designated under section 3 may designate another person to act as executive director, but a person must not be so designated for more than 90 days without the Governor in Council’s approval.

Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses

• 27 (1) The executive director is to be paid the remuneration that is fixed by the Governor in Council and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties or functions while absent from their ordinary place of work.

• Marginal note:Compensation

  (2) The executive director is deemed to be a person employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act and to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and any regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:Chief executive officer

28 The executive director is the chief executive officer of the Secretariat and has the control and management of the Secretariat and all matters connected with it.

Marginal note:Contracts, etc.

29 The executive director may enter into contracts, memoranda of understanding or other arrangements, including contracts to engage the services of legal counsel or other persons having professional, technical or specialized knowledge to advise or assist the Committee or any of its members.

Marginal note:Employees

30 The employees of the Secretariat are to be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.

General Provisions

Marginal note:Final decision

• 31 (1) The appropriate Minister’s determination that a review referred to in paragraph 8(1)(b) would be injurious to national security or the appropriate Minister’s decision to refuse to provide information under subsection 16(1) is final.

• Marginal note:Committee’s response

  (2) If the Committee is dissatisfied with the determination or the decision, the Committee is not to bring the matter before the courts, but it may note its dissatisfaction in a report referred to in section 21.

Marginal note:Compliance of activity

31.1 The Committee must inform the appropriate Minister and the Attorney General of Canada of any activity that is carried out by a department and is related to national security or intelligence and that, in the Committee’s opinion, may not be in compliance with the law.

Marginal note:Expenses — appearance before Committee

32 Subject to the regulations, a person is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred as a result of their appearance before the Committee.

Marginal note:Regulations

33 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) respecting the procedures and practices for the secure handling, storage, transportation, transmission and destruction of information or documents provided to or created by the Committee;

• (b) respecting the procedure to be followed by the Committee in the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of any of its duties or functions;

• (c) respecting the expenses referred to in section 32; and

• (d) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

Marginal note:Review of Act after five years

34 Five years after the day on which this Act comes into force, a comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the Act is to be undertaken by the committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established by the Senate or the House of Commons, or by both Houses of Parliament, as the case may be, for that purpose.

Consequential Amendments

Access to Information Act

35 [Amendment]

36 [Amendment]

Financial Administration Act

37 [Amendment]

38 [Amendment]

39 [Amendment]

Security of Information Act

40 [Amendments]

41 [Amendment]

Parliament of Canada Act

42 [Amendment]

43 [Amendment]

44 [Amendment]

Privacy Act

45 [Amendment]

46 [Amendment]

Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act

47 [Amendment]

Conflict of Interest Act

48 [Amendment]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Order in council

Footnote ^*49 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Act in force October 6, 2017, see SI/2017-63.]