Statement by the Hon. David McGuinty on his reappointment as Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
January 20, 2022

Ottawa, January 20, 2022 — I am honoured to be re-appointed as Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the new and returning members of the Committee. I look forward to working with them to continue the important work of providing a non-partisan approach to the review of national security and intelligence issues in Canada.

The Committee’s first priority will be to prepare for the tabling in Parliament of the 2021 Special Report on the Government of Canada’s cyber defence framework. The Committee will also continue its reviews of the national security and intelligence activities of Global Affairs Canada and of the federal policing mandate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

We look forward to early engagement with senior officials in the security and intelligence community charged with keeping Canadians safe. We will also solicit the views of academics and civil liberties groups, whose perspectives on national security challenges are important for the Committee to hear.

NSICOP members:

  • The Hon. David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., Chair
  • Mr. Stéphane Bergeron, M.P.
  • Mr. Don Davies, M.P.
  • The Hon. Dennis Dawson, C.P., Senator
  • Ms. Iqra Khalid, M.P.
  • The Hon. Frances Lankin, P.C., O.M., Senator
  • Ms. Patricia Lattanzio, M.P.
  • Mr. James Maloney, M.P.
  • The Hon. Vern White, C.P., Senator

Background

On August 11, 2021, NSICOP submitted its Special Report to the Prime Minister. The Report made four findings and two recommendations. The Prime Minister must table declassified versions of the reports within 30 sitting days following the resumption of Parliament.

NSICOP was established under the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act on June 22, 2017. It may review:

  • the legislative, regulatory, policy, administrative and financial framework for national security and intelligence;
  • any activity carried out by a department that relates to national security or intelligence, unless the activity is an ongoing operation and the appropriate Minister determines that the review would be injurious to national security;
  • any matter relating to national security or intelligence that a minister of the Crown refers to NSICOP.

After a general election, the members of the Committee are to be appointed within 60 days after the day on which Parliament is summoned to sit. All NSICOP members hold the highest level of security clearance, are bound by the Security of Information Act and meet in private.

Contact:

Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
generalinquiries-renseignementsgeneraux@nsicop-cpsnr.gc.ca