Spy watchdog urges stronger measures to avoid Canadian complicity in torture abroad

OTTAWA — A newly released spy watchdog report says some federal agencies should do more to ensure information-sharing with other countries does not lead to torture.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report makes recommendations to strengthen compliance with the law governing potentially troublesome information exchanges.

The Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act forbids federal agencies from sharing information with — or using information from — a foreign organization when doing so would create a substantial risk that a person would be tortured or otherwise mistreated in custody abroad.

Such information may be shared if agencies assess the risks and take steps to adequately manage them, a process known as mitigation.

“Mitigation is the only mechanism to allow for the sharing of information that otherwise carries this risk, and mitigation may, at times, prove exceedingly challenging,” the spy watchdog report says.

“This strict prohibition is in line with Canada’s international human rights obligations and international efforts to eradicate the use of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Federal agencies are also supposed to keep records detailing their consideration of these requirements in relation to information-sharing decisions.

The spy watchdog report, which covers 2023, details five cases concerning disclosures of information to foreign organizations that were engaged in armed conflict. The intelligence review agency looked at how these conflicts affected the ability of Canadian agencies to reduce risks associated with the information-sharing.

The watchdog found that three agencies — the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the RCMP — may not have been in compliance with the directions flowing from the law on avoiding complicity.

The report says some deficiencies were found in all three agencies, including inadequate design of mitigation measures to address the specific risks of mistreatment.

For instance, CSIS relied upon caveats attached to the information being shared and assurances from the receiving agency about how the information would be used.

The report says the caveats attached to the information stipulated that use or disclosure of the contents must be for intelligence purposes only and must happen in accordance with international human rights law, including the Convention Against Torture. The conditions also included restrictions on further sharing of the information without CSIS permission.

The spy watchdog found the caveats and assurances were “inadequately designed” to address the risks of mistreatment.

CSIS had no immediate comment on the intelligence review agency’s conclusions.

The intelligence review agency found that Global Affairs Canada’s poor record-keeping practices prevented the watchdog from assessing the department’s compliance in the case under examination.

More generally, the intelligence review agency found that a foreign country’s involvement in armed conflict “created challenges” for Canadian agencies in meeting their obligations under the law on avoiding complicity in mistreatment.

It also concluded that the practical realities of complying with the law can create a dilemma for Canadian agencies seeking to share information with foreign organizations for humanitarian purposes.

The spy watchdog recommended improvements, including thorough mitigation plans that evaluate the reliability of proposed caveats and assurances.

The watchdog also directed CSIS, National Defence, Global Affairs Canada, Immigration and the RCMP to conduct a study of information-sharing with foreign entities from countries involved in armed conflict.

The resulting study examined challenges in applying the directions and identified potential gaps in the legal framework, the intelligence review agency said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press