The federal government is planning to quickly push its lawful access bill through the House of Commons with a motion that curtails committee review and debates.
Bill C-22 would allow law enforcement to require a telecommunications provider to confirm whether it provides services to a specified person or account on “reasonable grounds” that a crime has been or will be committed. Police could then seek judicial authorization for a production order to obtain subscriber information relevant to an investigation.
The second part of the bill would also require certain electronic service providers to retain specified metadata for up to one year and would compel telecommunications and online service providers to grant authorities access to user data.
The government has said the bill would give law enforcement agencies more legal tools to respond to modern forms of crime in a way that is compliant with the Charter, while the Conservative Party has raised concerns that the second part of the bill would infringe on privacy rights.Several Tory MPs reacted to the news of the expedited review of the bill, saying more time for debate is needed.
Conservative MP Frank Caputo, and shadow public safety minister, told reporters on June 16 that the bill was being pushed through at a time when many Canadians still have questions about “whether this is going to be inviting big brother type of surveillance.”
The Tories have repeatedly requested that Bill C-22 be split into two parts, with the first part around tools for law enforcement being passed, and the second around metadata being studied further. Caputo told reporters that the Tories want to pass the first part “as swiftly as possible,” but that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree should “keep his promise” to listen to Canadians’ concerns and address amendments to the bill.
Anandasangaree also told reporters last month that he would propose amendments to Bill C-22 to better safeguard encryption and clarify exactly what metadata has to be stored by tech companies.
Some of the companies have said they would rather leave the Canadian market than comply with requirements of the law, saying it could compromise their security architecture or privacy guarantees.
Committee Meeting
Anandasangaree told reporters on June 16 that there was a “time for debate, and a time for choosing,” and the House of Commons had been debating Bill C-22 for more than a year. Anandasangaree said he had listened to Canadians who raised concerns about the bill, and will amend the legislation to address the concerns.Anandasangaree said the Liberals will strengthen protections for encrypted communications, provide a clear definition of systemic vulnerability, and ensure that metadata is stored for a shorter period of time.
“We have listened. We would have loved to consider these amendments at committee, but its work has been effectively ground to a halt. That is a choice made by one party,” Anandasangaree said. He added that the committee had only gotten through around 10 of over 100 amendments, and that there was a “clear filibuster taking place.”
During the public safety committee meeting later in the day, Liberal MP and committee chair Jean-Yves Duclos said he had calculated that the committee had spent nearly 27 hours in total reviewing Bill C-22, including 10 hours on clause-by-clause considerations.
“We would need another 260 hours if we continue at the same pace to complete clause-by-clause consideration, which would bring us to the end of 2028,” Duclos said, requesting that MPs review the bill’s clauses “as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Conservative MP Lawton said during the committee meeting that the Liberal government had tabled a notice to “silence debate and shut down this committee’s work” on the bill.
Liberal MP Sima Acan responded that the committee had already completed hours of studying the bill, and suggested they “be more productive instead of spending 11 hours last week on filibustering to focus on the clause, ask for relevant questions on the clause, so we can pass” the legislation.
