This House of Commons committee meeting studied Bill C-22, an act respecting lawful access. Appearing were Marcel-Olivier Nadeau, Michel Marchand and Nicolas Le Grand Alary of the Barreau du Québec; Luc Lefebvre of Crypto Québec; Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne; Erik Neuenschwander of Apple Inc.; Tamir Israel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association; Jeanette Patell and Katherine Charlet of Google; Mathias Van Laer, a retired RCMP staff sergeant; Commissioner Thomas Carrique of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police; Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton; Eric Smith of the Canadian Telecommunications Association; Andrew Ullock of the Ontario Child Sexual Exploitation Investigators Association; Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich of Peel Regional Police; and the Honourable Murray Rankin, as an individual.
The Barreau du Québec (Nadeau, Marchand, Le Grand Alary) argued the bill’s definition of “subscriber information” is too broad and could reveal sensitive personal data when cross-referenced, and that the “reasonable grounds to suspect” threshold for production orders is too low, urging “reasonable grounds to believe” instead. They recommended removing voluntary disclosure mechanisms lacking judicial oversight and requiring that computer data extraction be done by a person with no other role in the investigation to protect solicitor-client privilege.
Luc Lefebvre of Crypto Québec called for the bill to be withdrawn entirely, arguing its premise that encryption is a main threat to public safety has not been publicly demonstrated. He warned the bill would create a permanent digital monitoring infrastructure with no oversight, and that back doors would be exploited by bad actors, citing the U.S. FBI’s overestimation of investigations blocked by encryption.
Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne welcomed improvements over Bill C-2 but recommended narrowing the definition of “subscriber information” to a closed list of identifiers, restricting compelled production to telecommunications service providers, and adding an overarching “necessary and proportionate” requirement. He also proposed clarifying that “systemic vulnerability” includes actions rendering encryption less effective, and adding an exemption to confidentiality rules to allow providers to share information with his office.
Erik Neuenschwander of Apple Inc. stated the bill could force companies to break encryption by inserting back doors, which Apple will never do, and that no engineering method exists to allow access only for “good guys.” He urged amendments explicitly prohibiting any requirement that would weaken or bypass end-to-end encryption, and expressed concerns about the breadth of inspection powers and secrecy provisions.
Tamir Israel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said Part 1 of the bill suffers from overbreadth, and that Part 2 (the SAAIA) is fundamentally flawed: it is exceedingly broad in scope, its safeguards fail to constrain privacy compromises, and it does not rely on judicial authorization despite granting powers rivaling Criminal Code counterparts. He urged the committee to recommend advancing the bill without Part 2.
Jeanette Patell and Katherine Charlet of Google said the bill’s regime is unduly broad and goes beyond lawful access regimes in other G7 democracies, creating secret ministerial orders that undermine accountability. They argued the definition of “systemic vulnerability” is dangerously narrow and that metadata retention requirements are indiscriminate, recommending elimination of secret ministerial orders and stronger protections for encryption.
Mathias Van Laer, a retired RCMP staff sergeant, testified that child exploitation investigations depend on IP address tracing and subscriber information, and that enhanced lawful access provisions would allow investigators to act more quickly to identify suspects and safeguard victims. He noted that delays in obtaining production orders can cause investigations to close because data has expired.
Commissioner Thomas Carrique of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said the bill is not about expanding police powers but about ensuring judicially authorized investigations function in a digital environment, and that metadata retention for up to one year is reasonable for complex investigations. He argued the “reasonable grounds to suspect” threshold is appropriate for subscriber information, and that concerns about encryption are overstated because the bill does not compel companies to weaken encryption.
Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, urged swift passage, stating the bill could be the most significant investigative tool since DNA evidence and that delays benefit organized crime. He cited 476 extortion cases in Peel region and said production orders can take weeks, causing evidence to disappear and investigations to go cold.
Eric Smith of the Canadian Telecommunications Association said the 24-hour response time for confirmation of service demands is impractical, recommending at least three business days. He also raised concerns about the one-year metadata retention requirement and argued for a cost-reimbursement model for service providers, as exists in the U.K.
Andrew Ullock of the Ontario Child Sexual Exploitation Investigators Association said the law must balance privacy with protecting children, and that current tools are outdated. He argued that law enforcement should not need mutual legal assistance treaty orders for content data from international companies physically present in Canada, nor redundant search warrants for devices seized during a lawful search.
Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich of Peel Regional Police said crime has evolved digitally while investigative authorities remain analog, and that the bill would shorten investigative timelines and prevent victimization. He cited a recent extortion investigation that took seven months and argued that with Bill C-22 it could have been resolved more quickly, preventing over 320 rounds fired in the community.
The Honourable Murray Rankin, as an individual, supported the need for a lawful access bill but urged focus on five issues: clarity of the confirmation of service demand, definition of systemic vulnerability, the role of the intelligence commissioner and NSIRA, transparency and annual reporting, and a mandatory parliamentary review after three years. He noted that metadata retention was not a major focus of his consultations.
After testimony, Conservative MP Frank Caputo moved a motion to extend the study with additional witness testimony and to delay the amendment deadline. Liberal MP Jacques Ramsay then moved a competing motion to extend the study by two hours on May 28, extend the amendment deadline to June 1, and begin clause-by-clause on June 4. Debate on these motions was adjourned when the meeting ended.
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