The return of the House of Commons from the summer break brings with it a resumption of debate on government bills. Topping the list this week is Bill C-2, the omnibus border measures bill, that buries dangerous lawful access provisions that open the door to warrantless access to personal information and increased surveillance capabilities in Canadian networks. I wrote multiple posts on the privacy concerns before the summer (here, here, here, here, here, and here), expressing concern not only with the substantive provisions but also with a bill that combines everything from border measures to restrictions on cash transactions to warrantless access for law enforcement to personal information. The risk is that no issue will get sufficient attention as major issues get lost among the myriad of disparate provisions. For that reason, the lawful access provisions in Parts 14 and 15 in the bill should be removed and contained, if at all, within a separate bill.
Recent Posts
The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails 
How Much Further Will Lawful Access Go?: Police Chief Tells Bill C-22 Hearing That Three Years of Metadata Retention Would Be “Ideal” 
Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook 
Slick Videos Won’t Save Lawful Access: Why The Government’s Bill C-22 Defence Avoids the Charter, Privacy and Security Concerns Raised By Critics 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 268: Sara Grimes on the Moral Panic Behind Banning Kids from Social Media and AI Chatbots
