[3] The NSIRA Act closed gaps in the national security accountability framework first identified by Justice O'Connor in the 2006 report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, and subsequently by many others.

[2] This includes, but is not limited to, the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Department of National Defence (DND), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Department of Justice, and others.

In practice, the two review bodies will complement each other and provide Canadians with comprehensive and multi-faceted scrutiny of the Government's secret activities.

[4] NSIRA and the NSICOP may exchange classified information, and are required by statute to cooperate in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.

[4] NSIRA is led by a Chair and between three and six other Committee Members, appointed by the Prime Minister in consultation with Parliamentary leaders.

[4] On July 24, 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that former NDP MP Murray Rankin would be NSIRA's first Chair.