David Fraser has an excellent post on how Bill C-30 imposes a gag order on Internet providers who would be prohibited from disclosing disclosures of subscriber information to affected subscribers.
The Bill C-11 Committee has set the witness list for hearings that run until mid-March.
There are undoubtedly many factors that led to the early successful fight against the bill. Toews’ outrageous comments on siding with child pornographers the day before the bill was even introduced placed the government on the defensive from the outset. The substance of the bill is genuinely bad as there is no need for hyperbole to explain the privacy threats that come from mandatory disclosure of personal information without court oversight. This is an issue that resonates with both sides of the political spectrum with criticism from Conservative MPs and supporters particularly telling.
Yet this time I think there is something more happening. Government ministers often make ill-advised comments, yet few sink support for legislation so quickly. Privacy is a major concern, but it rarely generates this level of interest (the Privacy Act has not been amended in over 30 years despite repeated efforts to do so and there are no protests over the delayed Bill C-12, the privacy reform bill, languishing in the House). There has been conservative criticism of other government initiatives, but it rarely generates such a quick reaction.
The “something more” is the Internet and how over the past month it has emerged as a powerful political force in North America and Europe.
Myth: Basic subscriber information is way beyond “phone book information”.
Fact: The basic subscriber information described in the proposed legislation is the modern day equivalent of information that is accessed from the phone book. These identifiers are often searchable online and shared between individuals in online communications.
The government persists in justifying its mandatory disclosure of subscriber information without a warrant on the basis that the information is as openly available the phone book, yet this is plainly untrue.
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 232: What Will Canadian Digital Policy Look Like Under the New Liberal Carney Government? 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
Michael Geist
mgeist@uottawa.ca
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