Post Tagged with: "rcmp"

unsecured call! by Casey Bisson CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

RCMP Confirms Bill C-22 Concerns: Police Want Law to Provide Access to Encrypted Communications

As the concerns about Bill C-22 mount, the government’s incoherent response has included Justice Minister Sean Fraser implausibly comparing metadata to phone book data and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree suggesting that Canada was just trying to match U.S. metadata retention laws (the U.S. has no such law) and claiming that tech company concerns regarding breaking encryption were based on misinformation.

Yesterday, the RCMP appeared before the Public Safety and National Security committee and quickly contradicted the Minister, affirming that concerns about Bill C-22 are well justified. Indeed, the official confirmed that law enforcement wants the bill specifically because it would provide an opportunity to access encrypted communications. The exodus of tech companies, which now also includes DuckDuckGo, can be expected to continue. The relevant remarks embedded below.

Read more ›

May 29, 2026 — 5 comments — News
RCMP sign by Waferboard https://flic.kr/p/dTELwK CC BY 2.0

The Government Tries to Make the Case for Bill C-22: Why Its Own Use Cases Reveal Disproportionate Overreach

Faced with growing criticism of Bill C-22, the government this week mounted a coordinated defence, with senior officials from CSIS, the RCMP, and Public Safety Canada sitting for on-the-record briefings with the Globe and Mail, the CBC, and others. While officials tried to make the case for lawful access, they failed to make the case for Bill C-22, as their use cases reveal a consistent pattern of overreach. Indeed, whether the issue is metadata retention or the technical capabilities the bill would mandate, the powers it would grant extend well beyond the targeted needs the officials describe, resulting in a disproportionate bill in need of significant amendment.

Read more ›

May 21, 2026 — 2 comments — News
What are you looking at? by Jonas Bengtsson https://flic.kr/p/3bkGjq (CC BY 2.0)

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 93: Lex Gill on the RCMP, Clearview AI and Canada’s History of Surveillance

Earlier this month, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a scathing report on the RCMP’s use of facial recognition technology, particularly its work with Clearview AI. The report was particularly damaging as the Commissioner found that the RCMP wasn’t truthful when it said it didn’t work with Clearview AI and then gave inaccurate information on the number of uses when it was revealed that it did. In fact, even after these findings, the RCMP still rejected the Privacy Commissioner’s findings that it violated the Privacy Act.

Lex Gill is a Montreal-based lawyer where she is an affiliate at the Citizen Lab and teaches at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. She has also worked at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. She joins the podcast to discuss the Commissioner’s findings and to explain why this is best viewed as part of a long cycle of surveillance that has often targeted social movements or vulnerable populations.

Read more ›

June 21, 2021 — 2 comments — Podcasts
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Memorandum, October 28, 2014

Secret Memo Reveals RCMP Records on Requests for Subscriber Data “Inaccurate and Incomplete”

Last fall, Daniel Therrien, the government’s newly appointed Privacy Commissioner of Canada, released the annual report on the Privacy Act, the legislation that governs how government collects, uses, and discloses personal information. The lead story from the report was the result of an audit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police practices regarding warrantless requests for telecom subscriber information.

The audit had been expected to shed new light into RCMP information requests. Auditors were forced to terminate the investigation, however, when they realized that Canada’s national police force simply did not compile the requested information. When asked why the information was not collected, RCMP officials responded that its information management system was never designed to capture access requests.

While that raised serious concerns – the RCMP has since promised to study mechanisms for reporting requests with recommendations expected in April – my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) reports that documents recently obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal that the publicly released audit results significantly understated the severity of the problem. Indeed, after the draft final report was provided to the RCMP in advance for comment, several of the findings were toned down for the public release.

Read more ›

March 2, 2015 — 8 comments — Columns

ESA Applauds RCMP IP Enforcement Work

The Entertainment Software Association has applauded the RCMP for its work in targeting infringing activities at the Pacific Mall, just north of Toronto.  The actions come despite repeated unfounded claims that Canada is a "piracy haven."

Read more ›

November 11, 2009 — 1 comment — News
1 2 3 … 5