Evidence of meeting #49 for Public Safety and National Security in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was decision.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
I'm reassured to a certain extent by that clarification.
Mr. Coulombe, you did mention during your introductory remarks that there have been discussions between the service and the Department of Justice about how to improve co-operation and reduce the likelihood or probability of any concerns around candour with the court. Can you elaborate on how you see that co-operation strengthening going forward?
5:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service
In the Judge Noël decision, he does mention, in June 2016, the deputy minister of justice and myself appeared in front of the Federal Court en banc, so all available designated judges, to discuss the issue of duty of candour. As a result, we and the Department of Justice are now working on an action plan with a number of measures. We're waiting for the final reports with recommendations as to how to better discharge that responsibility, and obviously we'll report back to the court in terms of those recommendations.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
That's a rare occasion.
Can you take a few moments, then, since we have the time, and give us some specific examples about how you see this co-operation working?
5:25 p.m.
Chief General Counsel, Department of Justice
The main criticism in the judgment is about our breach of the duty of candour. I don't think there's any misunderstanding in the department or in CSIS that we have to do better. I think what the court is telling us is that for certain decisions that they're going to make, like the decision to issue a warrant, they want some more context, so we have to be careful that we are giving them enough context so they can make a proper decision. We have to make sure that all of our people are aware of that duty, both the affiants from CSIS and the lawyers presenting the case to the court. We are taking advice from outside experts on how we can do better by looking at best practices in ex parte matters in other jurisdictions.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Marco Mendicino Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Have you learned anything specific in studying some of the examples from different jurisdictions on [Inaudible—Editor]?
5:25 p.m.
Chief General Counsel, Department of Justice
We're waiting for a final report from our outside experts on that question. Warrants under the CSIS Act are somewhat different from Criminal Code warrants. One of the things we've asked our experts to do is to look at what other people do in different contexts, but to look particularly at this context because it is something different, and we're trying our best to come up with a plan that recognizes the unique nature of these proceedings.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Rob Oliphant
I thank the witnesses very much. You've answered our questions and have been helpful.
The meeting is adjourned.