Date: August 13, 2026
By: Ebenezer Adugyamfi/ Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada
The Liberal government has missed a legally mandated deadline to review one of Canada’s most significant national security laws, raising fresh questions about parliamentary oversight of the country’s intelligence and security agencies at a time when Canada faces growing threats from foreign interference, cyberattacks and rapidly evolving technology.
The legislation in question, Bill C-59, fundamentally changed Canada’s national security framework when it became law in June 2019. Among other changes, it established the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Act, introduced major changes to the operations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and created new civilian review and oversight arrangements for the intelligence community.
When the Liberal government introduced the legislation, it included a requirement for Parliament to conduct a comprehensive review of the new national security regime within four years.
That review was therefore due in 2023.
It has still not taken place.
Documents obtained by Global News show that the chair of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) raised concerns about the missed deadline with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree during a meeting in November 2025. Despite that warning, the parliamentary review has yet to be launched.
The delay means Canada’s national security agencies continue to operate under legislation that Parliament was supposed to examine several years ago to determine whether the framework remains effective and appropriate.
Government says review rests with Parliament
The Public Safety Minister’s office has pushed back against suggestions that the government itself is responsible for initiating the delayed review.In a statement to Global News, spokesperson Simon Lafortune said parliamentary reviews are undertaken by Parliament and that their timing is ultimately determined through parliamentary procedures.The government, he added, remains committed to supporting Parliament’s work, including a review of national security and intelligence legislation.
The explanation has nevertheless raised questions because the Liberal Party has been in government for more than a decade and currently controls the parliamentary agenda.
Jean-Yves Duclos, the Liberal chair of the House of Commons Public Safety Committee, which would likely be responsible for conducting the review, did not respond to a request for comment, according to Global News.
The missed deadline has therefore become a matter of political and institutional accountability, with questions about why Parliament has not completed a review that was specifically written into the legislation.
Why Bill C-59 matters
Bill C-59 was introduced as a major overhaul of Canada’s national security system.
The legislation created the legal framework for the Communications Security Establishment as a distinct agency and changed how CSIS operates. It also strengthened civilian review mechanisms intended to ensure that Canada’s security and intelligence agencies remain accountable while exercising significant powers.
The law was passed against a backdrop of growing concerns about terrorism, cyber threats, foreign interference and the changing nature of national security.
Seven years later, however, the security environment has changed considerably.
Artificial intelligence, sophisticated cyber operations, online disinformation, foreign interference and concerns about national sovereignty have introduced challenges that were far less prominent when the legislation was being developed.
That is one reason experts say the delayed review is becoming increasingly important.
Experts question Canada’s approach to national security
Stephanie Carvin, a professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a former CSIS analyst, said the missed deadline reflects what she described as a broader lack of sustained interest in national security by successive federal governments.
Carvin noted that Canadian national security legislation has historically tended to be introduced following major crises rather than through regular, systematic reviews.
Canada’s post-9/11 legislation, the Conservative government’s Bill C-51 following the 2014 Parliament Hill attack and the Liberal government’s Bill C-59 were all responses to particular security concerns.
The problem, she suggested, is that once major legislation is passed, attention can move elsewhere.
That creates the risk that laws governing powerful intelligence agencies can remain unchanged while the nature of the threats facing the country evolves.
CSIS has not had a major legislative review in decades
One of the most striking issues highlighted by the report is the age of the legal framework governing Canada’s domestic intelligence agency.
According to Global News, CSIS has not undergone a comprehensive legislative review since the 1980s.
That means the agency’s core legislative framework predates the modern internet and the technological revolution that has transformed intelligence gathering and national security.
CSIS itself has repeatedly called for its governing legislation to be updated.
In its 2025 annual report, the agency argued that changes made to its legislation over the past four decades have been overtaken by the rapid evolution of national security threats.
The agency also warned that Canada faces considerable challenges compared with its allies when it comes to collecting the intelligence necessary to protect Canadians, inform government decision-making and advance the country’s interests.
CSE faces a rapidly changing threat environment
The situation is similar for the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s signals intelligence and cybersecurity agency.
CSE is responsible for protecting Canada’s government systems and critical infrastructure from cyber threats while also conducting foreign signals intelligence.
Its work has become increasingly important as governments, businesses and individuals rely heavily on digital infrastructure.
But the agency now operates in an environment dominated by artificial intelligence, sophisticated cyberattacks and new concerns about digital sovereignty.
Carvin argued that the CSE Act, which is now eight years old, needs to be examined to determine whether its authorities remain appropriate for today’s security environment.
She suggested that CSE itself would welcome such a review.
Oversight agencies also facing challenges
The parliamentary review was also supposed to examine the relationship between Canada’s security agencies and the civilian bodies established to oversee them.
One of those bodies is NSIRA, which reviews activities and complaints involving CSIS and CSE.
NSIRA was created as part of the broader reforms introduced through Bill C-59 and was intended to strengthen independent oversight of Canada’s intelligence community.
However, a December 2025 briefing note prepared for Michael Sabia, Canada’s top federal bureaucrat, indicated that relations between NSIRA and parts of the intelligence community have been difficult.
The document warned of an increasing number of disagreements between the security and intelligence community and NSIRA, with some disputes either already reaching the courts or at risk of doing so.
A comprehensive parliamentary review would therefore provide an opportunity to examine not only the powers of intelligence agencies but also whether the country’s oversight system is working as intended.
Why the delay matters now
The delay comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Canada.
The country has faced growing concerns over foreign interference, including allegations involving attempts by foreign states to influence Canadian communities and democratic institutions.
Canada has also been dealing with cyber threats, espionage concerns and increasing competition between major global powers.
At the same time, the rapid development of artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities for hostile actors to conduct influence operations, spread misinformation and potentially target critical infrastructure.
Against that background, the absence of a comprehensive parliamentary examination of Canada’s national security laws raises questions about whether existing authorities are keeping pace with the threats.
The review is not simply about giving security agencies more powers.
It is also about determining whether those powers are properly limited, supervised and consistent with Canadians’ rights and freedoms.
Canada has experience with major national security reviews
The country has conducted several major inquiries into national security and law enforcement in recent years.
The Public Order Emergency Commission, established after the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act during the 2022 convoy protests, examined the circumstances surrounding the government’s decision and the actions of law enforcement agencies.
More recently, the Foreign Interference Commission, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, spent months examining allegations and evidence concerning foreign interference in Canada’s political system.
Those investigations produced significant information about the way Canada’s national security and law enforcement institutions operate.
However, experts argue that major public inquiries should not be viewed as substitutes for regular legislative reviews.
A functioning national security system requires Parliament to periodically examine whether laws remain fit for purpose.
The political question
The missed deadline also raises a political question for the Liberal government.
The government has maintained that the timing of a parliamentary review is ultimately a matter for Parliament.
However, critics can reasonably ask why the governing party did not make the review a priority after the deadline passed in 2023.
The fact that the issue was raised directly with the Public Safety Minister in 2025 adds another layer to the controversy.
It means the government was aware that the legislated review had not occurred, yet the process still has not been completed.
The issue is particularly sensitive because national security legislation grants state agencies significant powers that can affect privacy, civil liberties and the rights of Canadians.
Regular parliamentary scrutiny is therefore a key safeguard.
What happens next?
A comprehensive review of Bill C-59 would allow Parliament to examine whether Canada’s security agencies have the appropriate tools to deal with modern threats while ensuring that those powers are subject to meaningful oversight.
It would also provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of CSIS, CSE, the RCMP and civilian review bodies operating under the current framework.
The review could ultimately lead to amendments to Canada’s national security laws if Parliament determines that existing legislation is outdated or insufficient.
For now, however, the government remains three years beyond the deadline originally established in the legislation.
As Canada’s security environment becomes increasingly complex, the question is no longer simply why the review was missed in 2023.
It is when Parliament will finally undertake the comprehensive examination required by law—and whether the resulting reforms will be sufficient to protect Canadians in an era of cyberwarfare, artificial intelligence and foreign interference.
For a country facing rapidly evolving security threats, the delay has placed renewed focus on the balance between giving intelligence agencies the tools they need and ensuring that those powers remain subject to democratic accountability and the protection of Canadians’ rights.
