Ottawa Blocks Privacy Watchdog From Testifying on Secret Surveillance Bill

The federal Liberals have blocked a Conservative push to bring Canada’s Privacy Commissioner back to a House of Commons committee. The opposition wanted the watchdog to weigh in on proposed changes to the government’s controversial lawful access legislation, known as Bill C-22.

According to The Globe and Mail, the public safety committee started reviewing amendments to the bill on Thursday. That included two changes put forward by the Bloc Québécois that the privacy watchdog had originally suggested himself. But Liberal MPs leaned on procedural tactics to stall the Conservative request to recall the commissioner and have him explain the privacy risks tied to further amendments.

Bill C-22 is a contentious one, as it would give the Minister of Public Safety the power to issue secret orders forcing electronic service providers, like telecom companies and tech apps, to help police and CSIS intercept or pull data for investigations.

The bill could also require those companies to hold onto customer metadata for up to a year. That metadata doesn’t include your actual emails, texts, or browsing history, but it does track which phone numbers are talking to each other and location data that can pin down where someone is.

Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne has already testified before the committee, where he recommended several changes to protect the public, including giving his office the power to investigate data breaches caused by these new police powers.

Conservative MP Rhonda Kirkland led the effort to bring Dufresne back, arguing the committee has a duty to uphold privacy expectations and could face public backlash if it keeps brushing off the watchdog’s recommendations.

On the other side, law enforcement and security officials urged MPs to pass the modernization. The RCMP pointed to examples of how the bill would help them track down child abuse images on OneDrive accounts and quickly close out local crimes like bike thefts. Ramzi Nashef, the director-general of policy at CSIS, told the committee that Canadians would be concerned if they really understood the technical hurdles law enforcement runs into when trying to protect national security.

Ottawa seems adamant on pushing through Bill C-22 by June 19, ahead of Parliament taking its summer break. Apple, Google and Meta have all testified to the feds that Bill C-22 would break encryption and potentially allow hackers to access the keys.

The meeting also drew complaints from Conservative MPs, who noted that some expert briefing papers meant to help them understand the bill still hadn’t been handed out because they were waiting on translation.