Work Plan — Reviews Underway and Planned

CSEC activities selected for review are prioritized using a set of detailed criteria. For example, the ongoing review of CSEC's foreign intelligence sharing with international partners was identified as a high-priority review topic. This is because: there have been changes to the authorities and technologies relating to these activities; the amount of foreign intelligence CSEC provides to and receives from its international partners is significant; these activities could directly and adversely affect a Canadian; specific and important controls are placed on the activities to ensure compliance with legal, ministerial and policy requirements, and these controls should be examined; and, finally, in past reviews relating to these activities, Commissioners have made findings and recommendations which require follow-up.

Decisions respecting the selection and prioritization of subjects for review are documented in the Commissioner's three-year work plan, which is updated regularly as part of an ongoing process of assessing risk.

Current reviews

The results of several reviews currently underway are expected to be reported on to the Minister of National Defence in the coming year and included in the Commissioner's 2010—2011 public annual report.

The subjects of these reviews include: CSEC's foreign intelligence sharing with international partners; activities conducted under IT security ministerial authorizations; the process by which CSEC determines that targets of foreign intelligence interest are foreign entities located outside of Canada, as required by the NDA; a method used by CSEC to identify new entities believed to be of foreign intelligence interest; and an annual review of foreign intelligence ministerial authorizations, including a sample of associated private communications.

Upcoming reviews

Other reviews planned for 2010—2011 include: assistance to CSIS under part (c) of CSEC's mandate and sections 12 and 21 of the CSIS Act; an annual review of CSEC disclosures of information about Canadians to government clients and international partners; CSEC's retention and disposal of information, and, in particular, of private communications and information about Canadians; and CSEC assistance to CSIS under part (c) of CSEC's mandate and sections 16 and 21 of the CSIS Act. Some reviews may carry over into the 2011—2012 fiscal year.