National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act and Regulations
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act (the “Act”) came into force
on October 6, 2017, by Order of the Governor General in Council. On the same date, the Governor General
in Council issued an Order designating the Government House Leader as the Minister for the purposes of the Act pursuant to section 3 of the Act, as well as an Order making the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Regulations (the “Regulations”) in accordance with section 33 of the Act.
Progress of the Act has been discussed since it was first introduced as Bill C-22 in the “Anti-Terrorism &
Money-Laundering Update” from the June 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update, the “Legislation Update” from the November 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update and the “Legislation Update” from the August 2017 Charity and NFP Law Update.
The Act establishes the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (“NSICOP”) and makes several coordinating amendments concerning the NSICOP to other acts, including new section 16.6 of the Access to Information Act, new section 22.4 of the Privacy Act and new section 53.4 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, all of which discuss the disclosure of personal information by NSICOP.
The Regulations establish requirements for members of NSICOP with regard to: i) the necessary Top Secret security clearance issued by the Clerk of the Privy Council, ii) the report to the Clerk of the Privy Council of any change in personal circumstances that may affect the security clearance of the member; and iii) attending security briefings before accessing “sensitive information”. Section 1 of the Regulations state “sensitive information means information or documents (a) that a member obtains, creates or has access to in the course of exercising their powers or performing their duties and functions under the Act; and (b) that a department is taking measures to protect.”
The Regulations also provide practices and procedures for protecting sensitive information similar to those in the Treasury Board Standard on Security Screening. According to section 4 of the Regulations, members are only permitted to handle sensitive information while inside a restricted area, defined as an area “that is indicated by a perimeter and monitored continuously, to which access is limited to persons who hold the proper authorization and to escorted visitors, and for which records detailing the access to the area are maintained and audited.” While this is a development towards setting limits to some of those who access “sensitive information”, it needs to be remembered that this is in the larger context of a growing number of individuals and agencies (both domestic and foreign), who are now participating in the burgeoning information sharing regime.
Objectives of the Financial Action Task Force’s Presidency for 2017-2018
During the Plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) held in Valencia, Spain, between June 21 and June 23, 2017, the incoming president of the FATF, Santiago Otamendi, presented his objectives for the upcoming year (July 2017-June 2018) (“Objectives”). The Objectives recognize there is a double global threat of crime and terrorism, but also a need for financial inclusion, in line with the FATF Standards and the G20 High-Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion.
Financial inclusion is an issue that is of particular importance to charities and not-for-profits involved in programs that require the transfer of funds overseas to areas where there is either no financial infrastructure or where the correspondent bank has a restrictive policy that often only permits transfers by governmental entities or large organizations. For more information about this, see “Bank De-Risking and its Impact on NFPs” in our January 2016 Charity & NFP Law Update.
The Objectives recognize that the process of “de-risking and de-marketing” by global banks may potentially increase the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, as those who need to transfer funds to certain remote areas are left outside existing safe regulated channels. In this sense, the FATF is looking to continue its work with the Financial Stability Board, not-for-profits and financial institutions to monitor and address these issues and, specifically, to prevent the use of not-for-profits for terrorist financing, while ensuring these efforts do not disrupt or discourage the activities carried out by these organizations, as per Recommendation 8. For further information on the FATF’s Recommendation 8, see Anti-Terrorism and Charity Law Alert No. 46.