Earlier this month, I appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade to raise concerns with the Trans Pacific Partnership. I posted my opening remarks here, but a transcript of the full hearing – including questions from Conservative, NDP, and Liberal MPs – is now available online.
Articles by: Michael Geist
Canadian Government Launches Open Government Licence 2.0
The Canadian government has launched version two of its open government licence. Discussion and analysis on the licence from Teresa Scassa and Russell McOrmond.
Debating Surveillance and the Law in Canada
The recent stories about surveillance in the United States and Canada have generated increased debate in the media over the issue and I’ve been privileged to participate in several discussions. Last week, I sat down with Nick Taylor-Vaisey of Maclean’s to discuss the issue. The full interview is now posted here. Further, CBC’s Cross-Country Check-Up spent two hours discussing surveillance and privacy on Sunday’s show. I appeared as a guest at about the 54 minute mark. Yesterday, I also participated in a far-ranging debate on surveillance and transparency on TVO’s The Agenda. The video version of the program should be online shortly, but in the meantime a podcast version is available.
Finally, my technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) this week focuses again on the disconnect between 20th century laws and 21st century surveillance. It notes that revelations about secret surveillance in the United States involving both Internet-based communications and the collection of metadata from all cellphone calls immediately raised questions about the possibility of Canadian involvement or the inclusion of Canadian data. Given the common communication infrastructure and similarities between Canadian and U.S. laws, it seemed likely that Canada was engaged in much of the same activities. Within days, it was reported that Canada has its own metadata surveillance program, with the ministerial approval coming in 2011 from Defence Minister Peter McKay.
Canadian Surveillance Laws Can’t Handle Modern Day Snooping Technologies
Appeared in the Toronto Star on June 15, 2013 as Surveillance Laws Can’t Handle Modern Snooping Technologies Revelations about secret surveillance in the United States involving both Internet-based communications and the collection of metadata from all cellphone calls immediately raised questions about the possibility of Canadian involvement or the inclusion […]
The Trade Agreement That Cried Wolf: The Canada – EU Trade Agreement Timeline
The Canada – EU Trade Agreement was in the news last week with multiple reports on the likelihood of talks concluding within the next few days. Some reports said a deal was possible, British Prime Minister David Cameron said a deal is close, but by the end of the week Prime Minister Harper was saying that there was no deadline to conclude negotiations. While there is another report a deal may come today or tomorrow, if the past few years are any indication, we can expect continued speculation without a deal for many more months to come. A timeline of the talks for the past three years:
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 250: Wikimedia’s Jan Gerlach on the Risks and Challenges with Digital Policy Reform 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 249: The Debate Over Canada’s AI Strategy – My Consultation Submission and Appearance at the Canadian Heritage Committee 
How the Liberal and Conservative Parties Have Quietly Colluded to Undermine the Privacy Rights of Canadians 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 248: Mark Surman on Why Canada’s AI Strategy Should Prioritize Public AI Models 
We Need More Canada in the Training Data: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on AI and the Creative Sector
