Mandate of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner
My mandate under the National Defence Act consists of three key functions:
- reviewing CSEC activities to ensure they comply with the law;
- conducting any investigations I deem necessary in response to complaints about CSEC; and
- informing the Minister of National Defence and the Attorney General of Canada of any CSEC activities that I believe may not be in compliance with the law.
I also have a mandate under the Security of Information Act to receive information from persons who are permanently bound to secrecy seeking to release special operational information on the grounds that it is in the public interest. To date, no such matters have been reported to a Commissioner.
Within the context of CSEC's mandate, the purpose of my reviews is:
- to ensure that activities conducted by CSEC under ministerial authorization are those authorized by the Minister of National Defence;
- to ensure that CSEC complies with the law and only directs its activities at foreign entities located outside Canada;
- to ensure that, in all the activities CSEC undertakes, it effectively applies satisfactory measures to protect the privacy of Canadians; and
- to report the results of my reviews to the Minister of National Defence, who is responsible for CSEC.
Additionally, each year I am required to submit a report to the Minister of National
Defence on my activities, which the Minister must then table in Parliament.
While I am mandated to report to the Minister, my office is independent and separate from the Department of National Defence. My strong review mandate reflects the powers I have under the Inquiries Act as well as the independent nature of my office, which is an autonomous agency with its own appropriation from Parliament.
Annex B contains the text of the relevant sections of the National Defence Act and the Security of Information Act relating to my role and mandate as CSE Commissioner and Annex C describes the history of the Office of the CSE Commissioner.
- Date modified: