The CBC has reported on March 14, 2023 in an article, Intelligence watchdog investigating CRA following Islamophobia claims, that the claims against CRA of Islamophobia will now be investigated by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA). Presumably, NSIRA will have access to more information than that which the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson had access to. The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson had reviewed about 2,000 documents and did not make a finding of Islamophobia against the Charities Directorate of CRA but the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson did not receive certain documents and information from CRA. We have blogged about this here.
Here is a copy below of the text of the letter from NSIRA to CRA (PDF):
March 08, 2023
Bob Hamilton
Commissioner of Revenue and Chief Executive Officer
Canada Revenue AgencySubject: Notification of NSIRA’s Review of CRA’s Review and Analysis Division (RAD)
Dear Mr. Hamilton,
I am writing on behalf of the Members of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) to inform you that NSIRA is commencing a review of the Canada Revenue Agency’s Review
and Analysis Division (RAD).The review focuses on the RAD program’s national security activities and decision-making relating to registered Canadian charities, to assess their reasonableness, necessity, and compliance with the law.
This review is conducted pursuant to paragraph 8(1)(b) of the NSIRA Act. The NSIRA Act grants NSIRA full and timely access to all information held by reviewed departments and agencies, including
classified and sensitive information, with the exception of cabinet confidences.Please identify any specific contacts you deem relevant for the topic(s) being addressed by this review. NSIRA will be in contact with your officials with requests for preliminary briefings and
documents to gain an introductory overview of CRA and RAD’s activities. Depending on the scope of the review, to be determined at a later time, NSIRA will also contact any other implicated
departments or agencies to inform them of this review.In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, I would be pleased to discuss them at your convenience.
I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support to the independent review process, which is key to the transparency and accountability we provide to Canadians on behalf of the Government of Canada.
Sincerely,
John Davies
Executive Director, NSIRA
Here is some information from the NSIRA website about how they review matters:
What is NSIRA review?
Review by NSIRA is the independent and expert scrutiny of national security and intelligence activities conducted by any department or agency of the Government of Canada. The criteria for assessment can include, but need not be limited to, compliance (with law, ministerial direction, and policy), reasonableness, necessity, and efficacy. Additional criteria or lines of assessment may be determined at NSIRA’s discretion. Review can reach findings and issue recommendations with respect to the activities under consideration, as well as the broader context (e.g., governance, policy, organizational structure) in which they occur. Recommendations are non-binding on the departments and agencies to which they are issued.
Review occurs outside of the decision-making and operational process by which activities are conducted. That is, review is not connected to control or management of the activities being examined. In this way, NSIRA maintains its independence, as it is not implicated in the activities it reviews. Review is not bound by any temporal limitations. It may apply to past (completed) and present (ongoing) activities. It may also consider future activities by assessing the policies and procedures guiding a prospective activity, and highlighting potential issues before they occur.
The purpose of review is to ascertain facts after careful examination to develop findings and recommendations that inform accountability. NSIRA’s findings and recommendations are provided to the implicated departments and agencies as well as the responsible minister. NSIRA’s Annual Report, summarizing and contextualizing its review work from the previous year (including all findings and recommendations), is provided to the Prime Minister and tabled in parliament. Unclassified versions of each review report and the Annual Report are published on NSIRA’s website. In this way, review by NSIRA informs the broader deliberation – fundamental in a free and democratic society – regarding the means, lengths, and laws by which national security or intelligence activities are carried out. Crucially, NSIRA enjoys unfettered access (with the exception of cabinet confidences) to the sensitive and classified information of relevant departments and agencies, ensuring a level of scrutiny unavailable to other entities (such as civil society groups, academia, the media, etc.).