Security Intelligence Review Committee
| Committee overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 16, 1984 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Canada |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Canada |
| Committee executive |
|
| Parent department | Parliament of Canada |
| Website | www |
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC, French: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) is an independent agency of the government of Canada that is empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and investigate complaints against CSIS. SIRC was established in 1984 as a result of the reorganization of Canadian intelligence that also saw the creation of CSIS. This reorganization was recommended by the McDonald Commission investigating the former security service of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which was found to have engaged in illegal activities.
SIRC's role is to review the activities of CSIS to ensure that the extraordinary powers granted to the security service are "used legally and appropriately, in order to protect Canadians’ rights and freedoms."
SIRC does not report to a minister but rather reports directly to the Parliament of Canada.
Some appointed members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee have been at the center of controversies related to their activities outside the Committee.Wesley Wark, visiting professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, together with Ronald Deibert, professor of Political Science, and Director of the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, have both been important voices in calling for the need to enhance oversight and review of the Canadian Security Services watchdogs due to its current inefficiency. Authors Reg Whitaker and Anthony Stuart Farson, both experts in National Security, suggest that there is a need to enhance the role of Parliament in the accountability process and enhanced review and oversight bodies.
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