Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), government agency in Canada, established in 1984 by an act of Parliament. Its mandate is to investigate threats to Canada's national security and to provide advance warning of such threats to government departments and agencies. Those departments and agencies, which include the Department of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, are then responsible for taking action to counter such threats. The CSIS is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. The CSIS was established during the Cold War. As a result, much of the CSIS's work was initially devoted to countering the spying activities of foreign governments. After the Cold War ended in the late 1980s and 1990s, the CSIS shifted its emphasis to public safety, particularly to the prevention of terrorism. The CSIS commits a large proportion of its resources to counter-terrorism. The CSIS also investigates economic espionage: the attempt by foreign governments to gain illegal access to Canadian technology and information to secure economic advantage at the expense of Canadians. The government agency also works to deny illegal access to technology that could be used to acquire weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons). In addition, the CSIS fulfills requests by government agencies and departments for security assessments of prospective government employees and of people applying for immigration or citizenship. The responsibilities of the CSIS are restricted to internal security; the agency is not authorized to collect intelligence abroad. It does, however, have liaison officers in some foreign countries, and these people are involved in intelligence information that affects Canada's internal security. Prior to the creation of the CSIS, the law enforcement agency known as the Security Service of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police collected security intelligence information. There were some concerns, however, that combining security intelligence activities and law enforcement could lead to civil rights abuses. The government, therefore, decided to separate the two activities by creating the CSIS to handle security intelligence. Thus, the CSIS has no law enforcement powers. Any results of investigations by the CSIS that could lead to prosecutions under Canadian law are turned over to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. The CSIS also cannot conduct criminal investigations, although it can assist police with investigations that have both criminal and national security implications. The solicitor general, a government minister, is responsible to Parliament for the CSIS as a whole and issues policy guidelines to the director of the CSIS. This director heads and manages the agency. To guard against abuses of power, Parliament set up two review mechanisms, the Security Intelligence Review Committee and the inspector general, which monitor CSIS operations to ensure that they comply with Canadian law and the service's policies and procedures. The CSIS is also required to obtain a warrant, issued by a federal court, before using more intrusive methods of investigation, such as electronic surveillance and covert searches. Contributed By: Paul Buteux Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.