Bill C-22, the proposed Canadian legislation that would give law enforcement more power to surveil personal communications and data, passed through rushed committee proceedings after midnight on Thursday morning.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association
“The government should not have used this draconian measure.”
The Liberal government moved to limit debate on the Lawful Access Act earlier this week in an attempt to rush it through the House of Commons, which adjourns for the summer on Friday. The motion forced the committee to not adjourn its meeting until the bill was moved forward, prevented MPs from putting forward new amendments, and limited time for debate once the bill reaches the House of Commons.
Tech leaders have voiced concerns over C-22’s proposal to give law enforcement backdoor access to data and expand how long companies must store user metadata. Apple and Meta have urged the government to amend the bill, while some companies like Signal and NordVPN have said if the bill passes, they’ll leave the country altogether.
In a statement signed by multiple advocacy groups and academics, The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) denounced the move to end debate on the bill, and urged the government to change course on “its undemocratic ways.”
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“Bill C-22 is too complex and its impacts too significant to be rushed through,” the statement reads. “The government should not have used this draconian measure, should have allowed the study of the bill to run its course, and should have ensured that all government and opposition amendments were given full consideration and scrutinized in public.”
The Chamber of Progress said in its own statement that amendments added to C-22, like a shorter maximum metadata retention period, are “half measures.” The industry policy coalition said that the bill’s core surveillance and interception powers still mean Canadians could be exposed to new privacy and security risks.
In an email statement to BetaKit, a spokesperson for the Office of the Minister of Public Safety explained the expedited process by saying that the committee “has been unproductive over the past few weeks,” despite agreeing to a specific schedule.
“There have been ongoing discussions to find a path forward and plenty of opportunities to debate amendments, but the official opposition has made a choice to stall and prevent the committee from doing its work by engaging in deliberate obstruction instead of strengthening Bill C-22,” the spokesperson said, adding “We must move forward through the parliamentary process so we can support victims and give law enforcement the tools they need to protect Canadians.”
Feature image courtesy Gary Anandasangaree on X.