Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's primary national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad. It also reports to and advises the government of Canada on national security issues and situations that threaten the security of the nation.Its headquarters are located in Ottawa, Ontario, in a purpose-built facility completed in 1995. CSIS is responsible to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety, but is also overseen by the Federal Court and the Security Intelligence Review Committee.HistoryPrior to 1984 security intelligence in Canada was the purview of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service. However, in the 1970s there were allegations that the RCMP Security Service had been involved in numerous illegal activities. As a result of these allegations, in 1977, Justice David Macdonald was appointed to investigate the activities of RCMP Security Service. The resulting investigation, known as the McDonald Commission, published its final report in 1981, with its main recommendation being that security intelligence work should be separated from policing, and that a civilian intelligence agency be created to take over from the RCMP Security Service.