The committee was studying Bill C-8, which addresses cybersecurity and telecommunications security. Andre Arbour, Director General of the Telecommunications and Internet Policy Branch at the Department of Industry, appeared as a witness.
Andre Arbour explained that the term "person" in the bill refers to corporate entities, not individuals, and that obligations fall on telecommunications service providers (TSPs) regarding their supply chains. He argued that narrowing the scope to only TSPs, as proposed in CPC-4, would create a security loophole by preventing the government from restricting TSPs from contracting with high-risk equipment vendors that are not themselves TSPs, such as Huawei. He disagreed with Frank Caputo's concern that individuals could be targeted, stating that individuals are not involved in corporate supply chains.
Arbour testified that requiring prior judicial authorization for non-disclosure orders, as in CPC-5, would be unprecedented in administrative law and could delay urgent action by months or years, as cabinet confidence cannot be brought to court and the process is untested. He noted that the government's amendment G-1 was an alternative to CPC-5, and after CPC-5 was adopted, G-1 became potentially unnecessary but could serve as a backup if CPC-5 is later ruled out of scope. He also stated that the word "systemic" in CPC-11 is undefined and risky, as it could imply only attacks on the entire system justify action, potentially barring intervention against localized but severe threats.
Arbour warned that NDP-4 and CPC-13, which add interpretive clauses about confidentiality, integrity and availability, could block the government from requiring TSPs to replace compromised equipment if doing so causes temporary service outages. He supported the government's G-2 amendment as more targeted, focusing specifically on encryption. He confirmed that CPC-8, which references "privacy of persons," would introduce confusion compared to the adopted BQ-3, which uses "privacy of Canadians," a more tractable legal concept. He also stated that CPC-15, which would allow TSPs to request judicial review, is duplicative of existing rights under the Federal Courts Act.
The committee debated several amendments, with procedural challenges and votes occurring. CPC-5 was adopted, while CPC-4, CPC-11, NDP-3, NDP-4, CPC-13, and Green Party amendments PV-3, PV-4, PV-5, and PV-6 were defeated or withdrawn. BQ-3 was adopted on division, and G-1 and G-2 were also adopted. Frank Caputo challenged the chair's decision on CPC-5 but it was carried. Claude DeBellefeuille raised concerns about amendments being ruled out of scope at report stage, as happened with Bill C-12.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.