The prime minister loves to claim the review body for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) provides “robust” oversight. If by “robust,” he means weak, ineffective and half-baked, then I completely agree with him. If, however, he means the word as it is conventionally understood, Mr. Harper couldn't be further from the mark.The responsibility for keeping an eye on Canada's national security officials rests with the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC). But committee members themselves admit they are struggling to carry out their duties. Every year, SIRC releases a Departmental Performance Report that outlines its accomplishments and challenges going forward. Its latest report paints a grim picture. It says that there are “many inherent risks associated with [SIRC's] small size.”These risks are unsurprising given that the committee's annual budget of $2.8 million is a mere half a percent of CSIS' $513 million in funding. SIRC only has 17 staff and 5 members to monitor the activities of CSIS – an organization that has arrangements with 265 foreign agencies in 144 countries, employs roughly 2,500 personnel, and has 14 district and regional offices across Canada.To make matters worse, committee appointments are part-time, and they only met on nine occasions last year.When committee seats become vacant, as occurs frequently with agency, the prime minister waits months to appoint new members. According to SIRC's Departmental Performance Report, this near constant turnover has had a “direct impact on the organization's ability to operate effectively” and represents a “risk to the stability of leadership.”The challenges faced by SIRC help explain the poor quality of its reports, which are generally vague and lack substance.This situation cannot continue.Turning SIRC into an effective watchdog of Canada's spy agency requires the following changes:
- Expanding the committee's membership from five to nine
- Boosting SIRC's staff from 17 to at least 30
- Making committee membership a full-time appointment on a staggered, one time renewable 5-year term.
- Appointing a Deputy Chair and Deputy Executive Director who can quickly take over the lead role in the case of vacancy
- Increasing SIRC's annual budget from $2.8 million to at least $10 million, or about 2% of CSIS' budget