Federal intelligence commissioner issued record number of decisions last year: report

The Communications Security Establishment complex is pictured in Ottawa on October 15, 2013.

OTTAWA — The federal intelligence commissioner, who approves or denies key national security activities, issued 14 decisions last year -- the most in any single year since the position was created.

In his annual report made public Monday, intelligence commissioner Simon Noel says new issues continue to emerge concerning the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s cyberspy agency.

“Global developments in 2025 have reinforced the reality that Canada faces a complex national security and intelligence environment,” Noel says in the report. “While these challenges demand robust responses, they do not diminish Canadians’ expectation that our national security and intelligence agencies operate within the rule of law.”

Noel’s independent oversight role involves approving or rejecting specific activities of CSIS and the CSE that have been authorized by their respective ministers or, in some cases, the director of CSIS.

These activities, including the CSE’s cybersecurity efforts and foreign intelligence collection and CSIS’s use of data, might contravene Canadian laws or affect the privacy of Canadians.

A ministerial authorization must include the reasons for the proposed activities. The intelligence commissioner reviews these conclusions to gauge whether they are reasonable, applying the standard recognized by Canadian courts.

If deemed reasonable, the commissioner approves the ministerial authorization and CSIS or the CSE may go ahead with the planned activities.

In 2025, Noel received 14 ministerial authorizations for review -- nine relating to CSE activities and five for CSIS activities.

He approved the activities in 13 cases and partially approved the activities in one case.

“I am pleased to report that CSIS and CSE have been responsive to the issues I raise in my decisions, whether by making necessary adjustments or providing additional information,” Noel says in the report.

“My decisions effectively create a public record of how these concerns are being addressed. This process has led to concrete improvements in oversight.”

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press