Formal monitoring and evaluation

It is important to have a number of different monitoring and evaluating methods for the change in policy to ensure that the new changes are in fact being made and the policy is being followed. This will monitor the progress and also allow us to be aware of any adaptations that need to be made. Also, it will allow us to measure the success of the new policy and to determine whether or not it is being effective.

One way to formally monitor the policy change is to use the federal government. In particular, the Department of Justice can play a very important role in the evaluation. The role of the Department of Justice is to support the Minister of Justice and to make sure that Canada is a just society in which there is a just and fair system. It aids the federal government in developing policy and also in reforming policy if needed.

The Department will be able to ensure that the policy change that is made to security certificates is one that is legally valid and relevant. It will regularly review the changes that are made to security certificates and call for reform if it is found that some new issues have emerged.

Similarly, the Department of National Defense will also work to monitor the effectiveness of the policy change. Since the issue security certificates were created to deal with is that of national security, the Department of National Defense has quite a vested interest in ensuring that the security of the nation is not compromised. It will work to provide advice on the effectiveness of the change and assistance in managing resulting security concerns.

The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security is also mandated to exercise certain powers which will help in the monitoring process. This committee of the House of Commons has the power to report on studies of policies and legislation. Under Standing Order 108(2) one of the agencies this committee can study the policies and programs of is Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. This committee has already conducted similar studies. It reviewed the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 taking into consideration concerns about rights and limits.