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House Bill

Bill C-331

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 02, 2023
An Act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (duty of candour)
  • Bill C-331 aims to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act to address breaches of the duty of candour by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The bill proposes that the CSIS should report any breaches of this duty to the courts. Additionally, the oath of office taken by the Director and employees of CSIS will be updated to include a solemn promise to fulfill this duty. The purpose of these changes is to ensure transparency and accountability in the actions of CSIS.
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Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23
Mrs. Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, Lib.)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-331, An Act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (duty of candour). She said: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table my private member's bill, Bill C-331, an act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act on duty of candour. It is the result of widespread public consultations across Canada, including with racialized Canadians, who are more likely to have negative interactions with security officials. The bill seeks to amend the CSIS Act in the following ways: by including information about the number of breaches of the duty of candour in the annual classified report by the CSIS director to the Minister of Public Safety and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, along with a brief description of each and any remedial action; by requiring that the same information be tabled annually in the House by the minister in an unclassified form; and by amending the oath of office sworn by CSIS officials to include a duty of candour oath to the courts. Our security agencies cannot be effective without the confidence of Canadians, and they have a lot of work to do to earn their trust. Trust needs transparency, and this bill is an important step to bringing transparency to our security agencies.
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