2021-22 Departmental Results Report - Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians

[ PDF version ]

From the Executive Director

It is my pleasure to present the 2021-22 Departmental Results Report for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. This document provides a summary of the Secretariat’s notable activities in the last fiscal year.

Since its establishment in 2017, the Secretariat has supported the Committee in conducting a total of nine comprehensive reviews of Canada’s national security and intelligence community covering a broad range of organizations and issues. The reviews have helped strengthen parliamentarians’ and Canadians’ understanding of the security and intelligence community and the broader national security landscape in Canada.

Last year was a productive one for the Secretariat and the Committee. The Committee returned to in-person meetings for its core business of reviewing classified material and meeting government officials, while conducting virtual meetings with academics and the government’s National Security Transparency Advisory Group. This approach allowed the Committee to prepare for the tabling of its 2020 Annual Report in April, and the provision to the Prime Minister of its classified Special Report on the Government of Canada’s Framework and Activities to Defend its Systems and Networks from Cyber Attack in August. The Secretariat supported the Committee in its work throughout this time.

Following the 2021 Federal Election, the Prime Minister appointed Committee members in January 2022. The Secretariat briefed new members on their roles and responsibilities, and helped the Committee prepare for the tabling of its Special Report on Cyber Defence in February. The Committee continued its work on its 2021 Annual Report and its review of the security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada, and continued its special review of the Federal Policing mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

On behalf of the Secretariat, I look forward to continuing to support the Committee’s important work in the year ahead.

Lisa-Marie Inman
Executive Director

Results at a glance

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and its Secretariat were established in June 2017 by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act. The Prime Minister formally established the third iteration of the Committee with his appointment of new membership on January 20, 2022.

The 2021-22 fiscal year marks the fourth full year of operation for the Secretariat. Despite restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Committee and its Secretariat maintained an ambitious agenda, completing an annual report and a substantive review, finalizing another review for submission to the Prime Minister in spring of 2022, and launching another review for completion in spring of 2023.

Highlights of the Secretariat’s work include:

• Briefing the newly appointed members on the Committee’s authorities, roles and responsibilities;
• Preparing the Committee for the tabling of its 2020 Annual Report;
• Supporting the Committee’s deliberations and drafting of its Special Review on the Government of Canada’s Framework and Activities to Defend its Systems and Networks from Cyber Attack, which it provided to the Prime Minister and relevant ministers in August 2021;
• Supporting the completion of the Committee’s 2021 Annual Report;
• Supporting the Committee’s deliberations of its 2021-22 review cycle;
• Supporting the Committee’s substantive review of Global Affairs Canada’s national security and intelligence activities; and,
• Supporting the Committee’s review of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s federal policing mandate.

For more information on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians’ plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report.

Results: what we achieved

Core responsibilities

Ensure Parliamentary review of national security and intelligence activities in Canada thereby contributing to enhanced transparency and accountability of the national security framework.

Description

The Secretariat’s core responsibility consists of a number of activities to support the reviews of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, including at the Committee’s direction obtaining documents, arranging appearances of officials, drafting supporting material and reports, finalizing reviews for provision to the Prime Minister and relevant ministers, working with security and intelligence organizations to identify injurious information in reports prior to their tabling, and preparing public reports.

Results

Restrictions to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 continued to affect the ability of the Committee to conduct reviews and to meet as frequently as intended. Nonetheless, the Committee met numerous times to review the government’s cyber defence framework and to review the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada. The Committee finished the former review in August 2021 and provided it to the Prime Minister. During this period, the Secretariat supported Committee deliberations on these two reviews.

The call of the federal election in August 2021 caused the dissolution of the Committee. The Prime Minister appointed the next iteration of the Committee in January 2022. Thereafter, the Secretariat briefed the Committee on its statutory mandate and responsibilities, security requirements and the previous work of the Committee. The Secretariat briefed the Committee on potentially injurious information included in its Special Report on the Government of Canada’s Framework and Activities to Defend its Systems and Networks from Cyber Attack and sought its direction to revise the Report to remove that information. The Report was tabled in Parliament in February.   

In the following months, the Secretariat assisted the Committee in finishing its Special Review of the security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada and in drafting its 2021 Annual Report. The Annual Report was delayed as a result of the call of the federal election and subsequent absence of a Committee.

Throughout the year, the Secretariat supported the Committee’s review of the Federal Policing mandate of the RCMP. This review is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on the roles and responsibilities of the RCMP’s Federal Policing mandate.

Gender-based analysis plus

The Secretariat is comprised of eight full-time equivalents with diverse backgrounds, professional experiences and competencies and an appropriate mix of research and analytical skills.

Experimentation

The Secretariat did not complete any experimentation.

Key risks

The NSICOP Act establishes the Committee’s mandate, its right of access to information and the limitations to that right of access. During previous reviews, some organizations delayed the provision of information or did not provide requested material relevant to the review that was within the scope of the Committee’s work and statutory rights of access. These challenges have been mitigated over the past year and were not experienced during this review cycle. That said, departments are increasingly using a broad interpretation of information that is Cabinet confidence to restrict documents that are provided to the Committee or to withdraw information that was previously provided. Should this continue, the ability of the Committee to fulfill its statutory mandate will be compromised – the Committee will likely be unable to fully review issues of accountability, governance and efficacy if departments withhold key information. The Secretariat continues to engage the Privy Council Office to attempt to mitigate this risk.

Pursuant to the NSICOP Act, members of the Committee hold office until the dissolution of Parliament. In a minority Parliament, there is a risk that the dissolution of Parliament would interrupt or delay the completion of the Committee’s reviews.

As in previous year, the Secretariat is aware that planned results may be affected by the evolution of COVID-19 and public health restrictions to limit its spread. The Secretariat will work with the Committee to ensure the safety of in-person Committee work, and where possible conduct orientation visits to key members of the security and intelligence community, international travel and public engagements. If necessary, the Secretariat will adjust these plans at the Committee’s direction. The Secretariat carefully monitors and follows public health guidelines to ensure the safety of its employees.

Results achieved

The following table shows, for assisting the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians in fulfilling its mandate, the results achieved, the performance indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2021–22, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for assisting the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians in fulfilling its mandate, budgetary spending for 2021–22, as well as actual spending for that year.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to fulfill this core responsibility for 2021–22.

The difference between 2021-22 actual spending compared with 2021-22 planned spending is significant. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the work of the Committee, limiting its ability to meet in person, and the call of the 2021 federal election resulted in the dissolution of the Committee: a new Committee was not reappointed for over five months. This reduced associated costs, including hospitality expenses and interpretation services. In addition, neither the Committee nor the Secretariat conducted any international travel in the 2021-22 fiscal year due to the pandemic.

The majority of the 2020-21 Core Responsibility expenditures consist of salaries and wages for employees of the Secretariat. Other important expenditures include the provision of secure information technology services that enable the Secretariat to fulfill its mandate, and costs associated with the production of Committee reports (e.g. translation, professional communications services, web publishing).

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Internal services

Description

Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• acquisition management services
• communication services
• financial management services
• human resources management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• legal services
• material management services
• management and oversight services
• real property management services

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2021–22, as well as spending for that year.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to carry out its internal services for 2021–22.

As in previous years, the Secretariat narrowly defined expenditures associated with its functions and activities. This approach is based on a greater understanding of spending activity and results from three years of operations and greater precision between the allocation of expenditures for the Core Responsibility and Internal Services. Notably, the Secretariat is attributing the following to Internal Services: the memorandum of understanding with the Privy Council Office for corporate, administrative and security support; facility rental costs; and, legal services. All other expenditures are attributed to the Core Responsibility. While these adjustments will provide greater clarity in the long term, they have resulted in short term variances, such as the differences in planned and actual spending for Internal Services and the breakdown of the organization’s human resources profile.

Almost all expenditures incurred under Internal Services in 2021-22 relate to the memorandum of understanding with the Privy Council Office for corporate and administrative support.

Similar to 2020-21, the Secretariat employed legal counsel for part of the year. This individual's responsibilities included providing legal advice on reports and access to information requests. The Secretariat filled this position with a full time counsel in July 2021.

Spending and human resources

Spending

Spending 2019–20 to 2024–25

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.

The continued reduction in spending in 2021-22 is attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic and the call of the 2021 federal election. In order to abide by restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Committee met fewer times than intended and cancelled meetings when necessary to address public health challenges. The call of the federal election in August 2021 caused the dissolution of the Committee; a new Committee was not appointed until January 2022. These circumstances reduced the cost of meetings compared to the previous year, with fewer requirements for travel, hospitality and simultaneous translation. In addition, neither Committee members nor members of the Secretariat undertook international travel during the year, further reducing costs.

Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

The “Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the budgetary financial resources allocated for Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s core responsibilities and for internal services.

Human resources

The “Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services” table presents the full-time equivalents (FTEs) allocated to each of the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s core responsibilities and to internal services.

Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal Services

Expenditures by vote

For information on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s, organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2021.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s spending with Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2022, are available on the departmental website.

Financial statement highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2022 (dollars)

Difference between 2020-21 actual results and 2021-22 actual results:

The department’s actual net cost of operations before government funding and transfers for 2021-22, as compared to 2020-21 increased by $302,580. This increase is primarily attributable to the lift of restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which permitted the department to partially resume its activities, mainly for professional and special services.

Difference between 2021-22 actual results and 2021-22 planned results:

The department’s actual net cost of operations from continuing activities was $1,017,781 lower than the planned results. These lower costs are associated with fewer Committee in-person meetings and activities as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and the call of the 2021 federal election, which caused the dissolution of the Committee and a pause in its activities for over five months, until it was reconstituted in January 2022. As a result, the Department had fewer expenses associated with salaries and hospitality and none for domestic or international travel.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2022 (dollars)

In 2021-22, the department’s net liabilities increased by $93,637. This increase is primarily attributable to an increase in the Department’s activities, resulting in an increase in accounts payable and in accrued salaries and wages.

Total net financial and non-financial assets were $282,087, an increase of $100,497 from 2020-21. This variance is primarily attributable to an increase in amounts due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which represents authorities available to discharge remaining accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

The 2021–22 planned results information is provided in the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2021–22.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

• Appropriate minister: The Honourable Mark Holland, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
• Institutional head: Lisa-Marie Inman
• Ministerial portfolio: Privy Council Office
• Enabling instrument[s]: National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act
• Year of incorporation / commencement: 2017

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s website.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s website.

Reporting framework

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2021–22 are shown below.

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian’s website:

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy/Reporting on Green Procurement
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

• Mailing address:
  Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
  P.O. Box 8015, Station “T”
  Ottawa, Ontario
  K1G 5A6
• Email: generalinquiries-renseignementsgeneraux@nsicop-cpsnr.gc.ca
• Website: Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarian

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)

The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full‑time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2021–22 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2020 Speech from the Throne, namely: Protecting Canadians from COVID-19; Helping Canadians through the pandemic; Building back better – a resiliency agenda for the middle class; The Canada we’re fighting for.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.