This House of Commons committee meeting on Public Safety and National Security studied the 2026–27 main estimates for the Public Safety Canada portfolio. The Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, appeared alongside officials from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), the Parole Board of Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Department of Justice.
Erin O'Gorman, President of the CBSA, confirmed that the agency has agreements with U.S. counterparts for emergency services at border crossings and is aligning schedules, while also making infrastructure investments at points of entry. She noted that the 1,000 new CBSA officers will be allocated based on risk, including uniformed staff at borders and inland investigators.
Senior Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin of the RCMP stated that the 1,000 new federal policing personnel are rolling out across regions, with 200 additional regular members expected in central region (Ontario). He confirmed that the RCMP will not unilaterally release the MOU with China's Ministry of Public Security without third-party consent, but said the MOU is standard, not legally binding, and aims to re-engage dialogue on transnational threats like fentanyl. He also emphasized the RCMP's strong support for Bill C-22, noting Canada is the only Five Eyes country without a lawful access regime.
Jay Pyke, Assistant Commissioner at CSC, reported that the agency received $60.4 million for drone and cellular mitigation technology, with a goal to detect and prevent drone intrusions at all institutions within three years. He acknowledged increasing pressure on community bed space and programming due to a rising offender population, but said funding is not currently a concern for maintaining safe reintegration.
Claudine Legault, CFO of the Parole Board of Canada, said the board protects its quasi-judicial mandate in the main estimates and ensures sufficient funds for commissioners to render independent decisions, though budget constraints are expected in coming years.
Nicole Giles, Deputy Director of Policy at CSIS, said the service is constantly reprioritizing to address increasing threats, including espionage, foreign interference, and ideologically motivated violent extremism, and that technological advances mean threats can move from idea to action faster. She committed to investigating concerns about the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre not providing French-language threat reports to Quebec CEGEPs simultaneously with English versions, and affirmed that Bill C-22 does not require back doors or systemic vulnerabilities.
Aaron McCrorie, Vice-President of Intelligence and Enforcement at the CBSA, confirmed the agency is on track to hire 1,000 officers by fiscal year 2028-29, with over 100 already in place and 200 in training by July. He said about 800 will be uniformed officers at points of entry, allocated based on threat and risk.
Samantha Hazen, CFO of the RCMP, noted that the RCMP received $1.3 billion in border security funding from the fall 2024 economic statement, and that most of the 1,000 new personnel will be located outside the national capital region, with nearly 200 in the eastern region covering Quebec and the Maritimes.
Richard Bilodeau, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister at Public Safety Canada, said the government is open to amendments to clarify Bill C-22, including on encryption and systemic vulnerability. He argued that the bill creates a framework that keeps pace with technology, and that providers, not the government, are best placed to assess whether an order would create a systemic vulnerability. He disagreed with the Privacy Commissioner's recommendation that the government should bear that burden.
Ramzi Nashef, Director General at CSIS, said Bill C-22 would put CSIS on equal footing with Five Eyes partners, as Canada currently relies on ad hoc arrangements with electronic service providers. He stressed that the bill does not create mass surveillance, as access to retained data requires a federal court warrant for high-harm investigations only, and that many companies already retain far more data for commercial purposes.
Chief Superintendent Richard Burchill of the RCMP explained that when data is seized under judicial authorization, investigators must make regular returns to court to report on what was taken, how it is stored, and why it is still needed, with the judge setting the frequency. He said that if a suspect is eliminated or not convicted, the evidence would be disposed of through a court process.
Normand Wong, Acting General Counsel at Justice Canada, clarified that a "back door" is a systemic vulnerability, while lawful access requires a court-ordered warrant with evidence standards. He said the distinction is that providers currently cannot grant access even when a warrant is obtained.
Shannon Hiegel, Director General at Public Safety Canada, said the bill aims to set a uniform standard for data retention across providers, as current practices are ad hoc and vary by company. She noted that regulation will consider factors like a provider's client base size and service type when designating core providers.
Kimberly Gibner, Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister at Justice Canada, confirmed that a provider subject to a ministerial order could seek a stay of proceedings during judicial review, based on criteria like irreparable harm.
The committee also debated a motion from Frank Caputo to order the government to produce the unredacted MOU between the RCMP and China's Ministry of Public Security within 10 days.
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