History of CSIS

Working Toward a More Effective Organization

In 1987, then Solicitor General of Canada James Kelleher directed former Clerk of the Privy Council, Gordon Osbaldeston, to review certain concerns raised by SIRC and present a plan of action. Osbaldeston's report recommended changes to the Executive Committee, proposed a new support infrastructure, and suggested elimination of the Counter-Subversion Branch. By 1988 the Service had a new Director, Reid Morden, and significant internal changes had been enacted, including the dismantling of the Counter-Subversion Branch, as had been suggested.

The Act that created CSIS also sought to ensure that the Service would continue to develop as an effective and responsible organization. To this end, section 56 called for a comprehensive review of the provisions and operations of the CSIS Act to be undertaken after July 1989. As required, the five-year review called for in the CSIS Act was completed by a Special Committee of the House of Commons under Chairman Blaine Thacker. The Committee's report, In Flux But Not In Crisis, completed in September of 1990, declared that the Service and the Act were essentially on course, but provided recommendations for improvement nonetheless. The then Solicitor General of Canada, Pierre Cadieux, responded to these recommendations in On Course, a study detailing the mandate and role of CSIS and Canada's national security requirements.

A third review of the dynamics of national security was completed during 1992. In view of the changed geo-political circumstances brought about by the end of the Cold War, the Solicitor General asked then Director of CSIS, Ray Protti, to review the changing security intelligence environment to determine whether the Service should restructure and what resources would be necessary to respond to the changing environment. The review concluded that the Service was essentially well-structured to respond to the changing security intelligence environment. Detailed results of this review were incorporated in the 1992 CSIS Public Report.

More than twenty years after its creation, CSIS is a vastly different organization from the one that existed in 1984. The transition from a law-enforcement model to one focussing on intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism was done in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Under the leadership of Ward Elcock, from 1994 to 2004, the Service matured into an experienced, highly disciplined and effective intelligence organization. It adjusted its priorities to meet evolving threats both in North America and abroad. A premium was placed on intelligence information sharing. CSIS now has relationships with more than 200 agencies worldwide.

Meanwhile, the CSIS Act has survived the test of time. Just as it was intended, the Act continues to assure the human rights of Canadians.

In May 2004, Assistant Director Dale Neufeld replaced Ward Elcock. In November 2004, Jim Judd was appointed Director of CSIS.