New Report on Accountability of Canada's National Security Agencies

The Montreal-based think tank Institute for Research in Public Policy today published a study entitled Accountability in and for National Security.

According to the two authors, Reg Whitaker and Stuart Farson:

"In the post-9/11 environment, a familiar rhythm has returned to national security accountability: a security scandal leads to a specific inquiry, followed by a proposed reform agenda for an existing accountability regime that has been found wanting. The Maher Arar case is one recent example."

"Unfortunately, responses to scandals have resulted in an ad hoc, piecemeal and uncoordinated set of reforms. This has left a patchwork of accountability in which some agencies like CSIS work under close watch, some like the RCMP are under ineffective scrutiny, while other parts of the security and intelligence community like Foreign Affairs and Canada Border Services routinely go largely unexamined. A more integrated approach to accountability is imperative." [from the summary]

On the same topic, the most recent issue of the Weekly Checklist of Canadian government documents lists the June 2009 report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security: Review of the Findings and Recommendations Arising From the Iacobucci and O'Connor Inquiries.

Those 2 inquiries looked into the cases of Arab Canadians who were victims of faulty intelligence sharing practices by Canadian security agencies, that led to their being deported to Syria or Egypt where they were held without trial and mistreated or tortured.

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of book and serial titles which have been released during the previous week by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada.