The Anti-terrorism Act

F. THE NATIONAL DEFENCE ACT: COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT AND THE CSE COMMISSIONER (RECOMMENDATIONS 44 - 47)

The Government agrees that all of the activities of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) must adhere strictly to the provisions of the Charter and the Privacy Act, in addition to all other laws of Canada. Indeed, operating scrupulously within the laws of Canada is the first pillar of the CSE's values and ethics code and it has implemented stringent measures to protect the privacy of Canadians. In particular, CSE takes very seriously its obligations under the National Defence Act (NDA), which prohibits CSE from directing its activities at Canadians, wherever they may be located, or anyone in Canada. Furthermore, the NDA mandates the CSE Commissioner to review CSE's activities to ensure they are lawful. As such, the Government believes that the NDA, in conjunction with other relevant Canadian laws, already meets the objectives underlying the Subcommittee's recommendations.  

Regarding the proposal to require the CSE Commissioner to review interception activities for compliance with the Charter and Privacy Act , paragraph 273.63(2)(a) of the NDA already states that the Commissioner has a duty to review all of the activities of CSE to ensure that they are in compliance with the law. Similarly, as with any federal institution, the activities of CSE are automatically required to conform to the Charter, Privacy Act and any other applicable legislation, and making specific reference to this in the case of CSE might actually weaken this fundamental principle in its application to other institutions for which such a reference was not made. Finally, with respect to legal issues of interpretation raised by the former CSE Commissioner, CSE is working with Department of Justice officials to address these issues, with a view to bringing forward proposed legislative amendments in due course.

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Updated to April 1, 2008.