Announcement of 2003-2004 Annual Report

News Release —  Communiqué

Minister of National Defence Announces Tabling of CSE Commissioner's Annual Report

NR-04.075
October 8, 2004

OTTAWA - The Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of National Defence, today announced the tabling in the House of Commons of the 2003 2004 Annual Report of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Commissioner.

The CSE Commissioner, the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, who was appointed on June 19, 2003, is mandated to review and to report to the Minister of National Defence on the lawfulness of CSE's activities.

"CSE plays a vital role in support of the safety and security of Canada", Mr. Graham said. "On behalf of all Canadians, I wish to express my appreciation to Mr. Lamer for his assurance that CSE meets the foreign intelligence priorities of the Government in a lawful manner, and for his commitment and dedication during this first year of his three-year mandate."

In this, his first report, Mr. Lamer observed that he witnessed and participated in the evolution of human rights and freedoms in Canada during his 20 years of experience in the Supreme Court, ten of them as Chief Justice. He noted that "this experience dovetails very well with my duties as Commissioner, because safeguarding the privacy of Canadians is an important, although not exhaustive, element of my mandate."

CSE, an agency of the Department of National Defence, provides foreign intelligence to its Canadian Government clients. CSE also provides technical advice and service to the Government of Canada to preserve the security of its telecommunications and automated systems.

The report is available on the Commissioner's website at www.ocsec-bccst.gc.ca

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For more information, please contact:

Joanne Weeks
Executive Director
Office of the Communications
Security Establishment Commissioner
(613) 992-3044

Isabelle Savard
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of National Defence
(613) 996-3100

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