Parliamentary Committee Notes: Research Security in Canada

Date: February 26, 2023
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: NCSB

Issue:

To provide an overview of Public Safety Canada’s efforts to protect the integrity of Canadian research, innovation, and development from foreign interference and intellectual property theft, in support of Minister Mendicino’s appearance before the Special Parliamentary Committee on Canada-China Relations (CACN).

Proposed Response:

If pressed on recent Globe and Mail reporting on research security:

Background:

Canada’s research and development ecosystem is driven by an open and collaborative environment that encourages domestic and international partnerships.

However, the combination of possessing advanced research and fostering a collaborative environment exposes Canada’s research and development experts to threat actors wanting to steal sensitive data, technology, intellectual property and knowledge in order to gain unfair military and economic advantage.

In September 2020, the Government of Canada announced that research related to COVID-19 was experiencing a higher volume of threats from foreign hostile actors. This statement encouraged researchers in the health sector to take extra precautions to protect their research, intellectual property, and knowledge development. An additional announcement was made in spring 2021, emphasizing that all areas of research are increasingly at risk due to Canada’s reliance on cyber infrastructure and the prevalence of cyber security attacks. In response to this concern, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, Minister of Public Safety, and Minister of Health announced the intent to integrate national security considerations into the development, evaluation, and funding of research partnerships.

In consultation with the Government of Canada, universities, and associations that represent academic institutions, the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (Guidelines) were developed and published in July 2021. The Guidelines identify important national security considerations for all members of the Canadian research community – including, but not limited to, researchers, academic institutions, and research funders – who support or participate in research projects with partner organizations.

A key component of the Guidelines Is the Risk Assessment Form, which researchers can use to identify and assess risks that their research partnerships may pose to Canada’s national security. The Risk Assessment Form asks two sets of questions that prompt the researcher to consider the nature of their research (Know Your Research) and their proposed research partners (Know Your Partner).

To pilot the integration of national security considerations into the development, evaluation and funding of research partnerships, the Guidelines were applied on a mandatory basis in the first phase to the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) Alliance Grants program, recognizing that this program funds sensitive research areas that may carry higher security risks. While the Risk Assessment Form was initially mandatory for Alliance grant applications, the due diligence approach and methodology it supports can be widely applied to all research and innovation programs.

Current Status of Canadian Efforts in the area of Research Security

Contacts:

Prepared by: Senior Policy Analyst (name and number not releasable)
Approved by: Sébastien Aubertin-Giguère, Acting Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National and Cyber Security Branch, 613-990-4976

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