While much of the focus on lawful access and subscriber information has centred on the reduced standards for obtaining an order for such information from Canadian telecom and Internet providers, there is another new production order deserving of attention (see earlier posts on domestic subscriber information standards and mandatory metadata retention). Bill C-22 introduces a new mechanism for Canadian courts to authorize police to request subscriber information and transmission data held outside the country directly from foreign platforms such as Google, Meta, and other services that provide communications services to the public. The provision is presented as a tool to modernize cross-border investigations, but in practice, it is likely to reduce privacy safeguards.
Latest Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 263: The Lawful Access Act Roundtable With David Fraser and Robert Diab
Lawful access is back. The decades-long battle has entered a new phase with the introduction of Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act. This bill follows last spring’s attempt to bury lawful access provisions in Bill C-2, a border measures bill. The latest bill covers the two main aspects of lawful access: law enforcement access to personal information held by communication service providers such as ISPs and wireless providers, and the development of surveillance and monitoring capabilities within Canadian networks.
To discuss the latest iteration of lawful access, I’m joined on the Law Bytes podcast by David Fraser and Robert Diab for a roundtable discussion of the key elements of the proposed legislation. David is one of Canada’s leading privacy lawyers and a partner with McInness Cooper in Halifax, and Robert is a law professor at Thompson Rivers University in BC and the co-author of a book on search and seizure law.
When Writing About Antisemitism Proves the Point: What the Replies Reveal
Over the past several weeks, I have written and spoken about the escalation of antisemitic violence in Canada including a Globe and Mail op-ed, a blog post after Toronto Police finally moved to restrict protests from Jewish residential streets, an interview on CBC’s The Current, and a PROC committee appearance where antisemitism was raised. In each case, I shared the piece or clip on social media (here, here, here), sparking a torrent of antisemitic vitriol that even after months of escalation leaves me stunned. I write this post not to amplify the vocal hate that fills my timeline, but to ensure that readers who might otherwise not scroll past my original posts understand what has become normalized.
Acting on Antisemitism: If This Was Always Possible, Why Didn’t It Happen Sooner?
Earlier this month, I appeared on CBC’s The Current to discuss the escalation of antisemitic violence in Canada following my Globe op-ed and PROC committee appearance. The host asked me whether something like the Bondi Beach massacre, the December 2025 attack that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia, could happen here. I replied that it was a certainty. He was taken aback and pressed me on it. I clarified that I didn’t mean a massacre was certain, but that with the relentless escalation of antisemitic violence in Canada, people would die. It was not a matter of if, but when.
That exchange has stayed with me, not because I said something provocative, but because his surprise was so revealing. What felt to me (and I believe many in the Jewish community) like an obvious, even understated observation given the inevitable endpoint of a trajectory visible to anyone who has been paying attention, registered to him as an alarming claim requiring justification. That gap between what the Jewish community experiences and what everyone else appears willing to acknowledge has been a defining feature of the post-October 7th world.
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 262: Zack Shapiro on the Claude AI Native Law Firm
What are the limits of using AI to help run a legal practice? There is much discussion about what an AI future might look like, but with the rapid development of AI tools, the future may be now. The hot AI service of the moment is Claude AI, which targets various verticals, including software development and legal services. Zack Shapiro is a New York lawyer and the founder of the Rains law firm. He is a Yale Law School grad who clerked in the U.S. federal courts and practiced at Davis Polk in New York. In a trio of recent articles, he draws on his own experience to argue that the general-purpose AI service is already sufficiently powerful to have a transformative effect on legal practice. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss how he did it and what it might mean for the future of legal services.
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Unleashing the Trolls: Ontario Court Opens the Door to Liability for Influencers Who Weaponize Their Audiences 
Why Ottawa Will Likely Join the U.S. in Opposing the Quebec Online Streaming Law at the Centre of the Trade Battle 
Online Harms’ Forgotten Generation: Why the Government Needs to Pay Attention to Protecting Seniors 
Culture Off the Table? What the Collapsed Canada-U.S. Trade Talks Reveal About the Carney Government’s Cultural Policy 
Digital Trade Alignment: What May Be in Play in the Canada-U.S. Trade Deal
