The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) of Canada announced that the Communications Security Establishment’s (CSE) use of polygraphs for security screening during the hiring process breaches the privacy of prospective employees.
Though the CSE asserts that its assessment method aligns with the Privacy Act, the NSIRA’s findings state that it “falls short of these requirements.” According to the NSIRA, Section 4 of the Privacy Act mandates that any personal information collected be related “directly to an operating program or activity of the institution.” The review revealed that the CSE has been improperly utilizing polygraph results to make hiring decisions, rather than solely for assessing a candidate’s loyalty to the nation.
Additionally, the NSIRA found non-compliance with Section 7 of the Privacy Act, which requires the use of an individual’s personal information to be confined to the specific purpose for which it was collected. The agency also raised concerns that the hiring practice might infringe upon applicants’ rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The polygraph assessment aims to evaluate an “individual’s criminality and/or loyalty to Canada,” given that employment at the CSE involves access to sensitive national information. The NSIRA has recommended that the government either eliminate or modify the assessment to comply with constitutional standards.
While the CSE employs the polygraph evaluation, security clearances across the Canadian federal government are regulated by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). The polygraph assessment standard was introduced by the TBS through the Standard on Security Screening in 2014.
Concerns regarding the polygraph test’s reliability were also noted in the review, highlighting the potential shortcomings of the test.
The investigation and review of the CSE’s practices are within the parliamentary mandate granted to the NSIRA by Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(b) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act. This legislation authorizes the NSIRA to “review any activity carried out by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or the Communications Security Establishment” and “review any activity carried out by a department that relates to national security or intelligence.”
The CSE, Canada’s digital intelligence agency, is tasked with foreign signals intelligence and safeguarding government information. For more details, you can visit the full article on JURIST.