Program directory · National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat
National security and intelligence activity reviews and complaints investigations
- Program code
- BXW01 (SIRC)
- Core responsibility
- National Security and Intelligence Reviews and Complaints Investigations
- In Departmental Plans
- 2020-21 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency serves Canada and Canadians by reviewing activities carried out by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, the Communications Security Establishment, any federal department and agency that relate to national security or intelligence, and other matters related to national security or intelligence referred by ministers of the Crown. These reviews assess whether the activities are lawful, reasonable, necessary and comply with Ministerial direction. The Review Agency provides classified reports to Ministers and may provide unclassified reports to the public.
The Review Agency investigates complaints from members of the public regarding activities of CSIS, CSE or the national security activities of the RCMP, and certain other national security-related complaints. At the conclusion of an investigation, a report must be made to responsible ministers and to certain officials. The Review Agency must report the findings of an investigation to a complainant.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2019-20. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review of Canadian Security Intelligence Service operations | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2018-19 – 2021-22 | $3.1M |
| Investigation of complaints against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service | Earlier program (name match, medium confidence) | 2019-20 – 2021-22 | $344K |
| National security and intelligence activity reviews and complaints investigations | This program | 2019-20 – 2028-29 | $43.7M |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Appears to combine earlier programs: Review of Canadian Security Intelligence Service operations; Investigation of complaints against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2020-21 | Renamed from “National security and intelligence activity reviews and complaints investigations” to “Support the Conduct of Reviews and Investigations, and the Development of Reports”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2021-22 | Renamed from “Support the Conduct of Reviews and Investigations, and the Development of Reports” to “National security and intelligence activity reviews and complaints investigations”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Average number of months to complete Secretariat activities in support of NSIRA reviews.; NSIRA has the necessary operational and administrative support to independently investigate national security-related complaints in a timely manner.; Percentage of all mandatory reviews undertaken under NSIRA’s direction that are completed within the calendar year. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: All high priority national security or intelligence activities, as approved by Members, are reviewed over a three year period; All mandatory reviews are completed on an annual basis; Percentage of investigations completed within NSIRA service standards; Reviews of national security or intelligence activities of at least five departments or agencies are conducted each year | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 100% completion over three years; at least 33% completed each year | 2022 | 33% | Met |
| 2022-23 | 100% completion over three years; at least 33% completed each year | 2023 | 33% | Met |
| 2023-24 | 100% completion over three years; at least 33% completed each year | 2024 | 33% | Met |
| 2024-25 | 100% completion over three years; at least 33% completed each year | 2025 | 33% | Met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 100% completion of mandatory reviews | 2022 | 100% | Met |
| 2022-23 | 100% completion of mandatory reviews | 2023 | 100% | Met |
| 2023-24 | 100% completion of mandatory reviews | 2024 | 100% | Met |
| 2024-25 | 100% completion of mandatory reviews | 2025 | 100% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 90% – 90% | 2022 | — In 2022–23, NSIRA will finalize the development of service standards for how long it takes to complete its investigations; the results will be included in the next Departmental Results Report. | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | 90% – 90% | 2023 | 0% The service standards were established by March 31, 2023, with an effective implementation date of April 1, 2023. Therefore there is no data to gather and report. Data will begin being collected as of April 1, 2023 and will be reported on in 23-24. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | 90% – 100% | 2024 | 100% | Met |
| 2024-25 | 90% – 100% | 2025 | 100% 100% | Met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | At least one national security or intelligence activity is reviewed in at least five departments or agencies annually | 2022 | 100% | Met |
| 2022-23 | At least one national security or intelligence activity is reviewed in at least five departments or agencies annually | 2023 | 100% | Met |
| 2023-24 | At least one national security or intelligence activity is reviewed in at least five departments or agencies annually | 2024 | 100% | Met |
| 2024-25 | At least one national security or intelligence activity is reviewed in at least five departments or agencies annually | 2025 | 100% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 12 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 90% – 100% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 90 – 100 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | — | $3M |
| 2020-21 | $11.3M | $5.6M |
| 2021-22 | $12M | $7.4M |
| 2022-23 | $10.8M | $7.8M |
| 2023-24 | $10.8M | $9.1M |
| 2024-25 | $10.9M | $10.9M |
| 2025-26 | $11.3M | — |
| 2026-27 | $10.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $10.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $9.7M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 48 | 38 |
| 2021-22 | 69 | 52 |
| 2022-23 | 69 | 53 |
| 2023-24 | 69 | 51 |
| 2024-25 | 69 | 58 |
| 2025-26 | 69 | — |
| 2026-27 | 54 | — |
| 2027-28 | 54* | — |
| 2028-29 | 54* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 plan | $11,309,411 | $12,107,192 | $13,842,015 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $12,047,835 | $10,740,923 | $10,744,262 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $10,756,818 | $10,757,687 | $10,757,687 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $10,807,324 | $10,807,324 | $10,806,388 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $10,852,987 | $10,852,051 | $10,852,051 | ||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $11,280,435 | $11,296,175 | $11,296,175 | ||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $10,599,557 | $10,293,901 | $9,682,300 | ||||||
| Actual | $5,607,796 | $7,394,642 | $7,756,271 | $9,110,398 | $10,856,293 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
