Order in Council - 1999

P.C. 1999-1048
June 8, 1999

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence, pursuant to Part II of the Inquiries Act, hereby authorizes the Minister of National Defence (in this order referred to as "the Minister")

(a) to re-appoint the Honourable Claude Bisson of Montreal, Quebec, for a period of three years, as a commissioner ("the Commissioner") to review the activities of the Communications Security Establishment ("CSE") for the purpose of determining whether those activities are in compliance with the law;

(b) to authorize the Commissioner to commence that review on his own initiative or at the request of the Minister;

(c) to authorize the Commissioner to investigate any complaint, concerning the lawfulness of CSE activities, made by any individual who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;

(d) to authorize the Commissioner not to investigate complaints for which, in the Commissioner's opinion, other avenues of redress are established by statute;

(e) to specifically authorize the Commissioner to inform any complaint of the results of his investigation, ensuring that no classified information is disclosed to the complainant;

(f) to direct the Commissioner to inform the Minister and the Attorney General of Canada of any CSE activity that the Commissioner believes may not be in compliance with the law;

(g) to direct the Commissioner to submit to the Minister, once each year and in both official languages, a report on the Commissioner's activities and findings that are not classified, which report the Minister will table in Parliament;

(h) to authorize the Commissioner, at any time the Commissioner considers it advisable, to submit a report containing classified information to the Minister;

(i) to direct the Commissioner, before submitting any report to the Minister, to consult with the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Security and Intelligence) at the Privy Council Office for the purpose of ensuring compliance with all security requirements and the preservation of the secrecy of sources of security and intelligence information and of the security of information provided to Canada in confidence by other nations;

(j) to direct the Commissioner and all persons engaged on his behalf take an oath of secrecy and comply with all applicable government security requirements;

(k) to authorize the Commissioner to engage the services of any staff, advisors and counsel that he considers necessary to assist him in the performance of his duties and functions at such rates of remuneration and reimbursement as may be approved by the Treasury Board;

(l) to fix the remuneration of the Commissioner at the per diem rate set out in the annexed schedule, which rate is within the range of $400 to $500; and

(m) to authorize that the Commissioner be paid reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties and functions while absent from his ordinary place of residence, in accordance with Treasury Board travel directives;

effective June 19, 1999.