Dallaire, a retired lieutenant-general, will present a motion next week asking the Senate Anti-Terrorism Committee to study how to create a “national security committee of parliamentarians,” and look at the role women play in “deradicalization in Canada and abroad.”
There are some oversight bodies — such as the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which keeps an eye on Canada’s spy agency — but parliamentarians have no role in the accountability process.
This push for more accountability comes in the wake of the federal auditor general’s report that found $3.1 billion in anti-terrorism spending was unaccounted for.
Sen. James Cowan, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, said this highlights the importance of having parliamentary oversight of government security spending and makes Dallaire’s proposal particularly timely.
“There is no parliamentary oversight, no committee of parliamentarians, that reviews the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of our anti-terrorism and security forces in this country,” Cowan said.
Conservative Sen. Hugh Segal, chair of the Senate Anti-Terrorism Committee, said having parliamentary oversight would allow for a more consultative process between security agencies and parliamentarians.
“What we need in the country is a prospective structure; one where people in the security business can talk to legislators in a secure context in a fashion where they can work on things together,” he said.
Segal believes that while such a committee is good for general policies and spending, direct operational oversight would be inappropriate.
Three attempts to create such a committee have failed in the past decade. The Anti-Terrorism Committee recommended in 2011 that the government adopt an oversight body and Dallaire’s motion puts it back on the agenda.
There is some concern over having a new committee because more people would have access to sensitive documents, but Segal dismissed such worries.
A committee of senior cabinet members and Prime Minister Stephen Harper oversees national security issues. However, outside of this group, parliamentarians have no oversight.
“Government doesn’t operate by itself, it is accountable to Parliament. Now, there are special considerations with respect to national security and that’s why we’re suggesting it be a special committee,” Cowan said.
“Surely the role of Parliament is to hold the government to account, to make sure that citizens of the country are as safe as can be.”
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Tyler Dawson
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