The federal government says the debate over its controversial lawful access Bill C-22 is marred by 'misunderstanding' but says it is open to amending it to address concerns over encryption and fears of mass surveillance.
Government officials were responding to concerns from civil liberty advocates, business groups, technology companies and Republican politicians. 'We've obviously been paying close attention to comments about lack of clarity about encryption, for example, and questions about whether or not there's direct access by law enforcement, and comments about mass surveillance,' Richard Bilodeau, the Public Safety Canada's acting assistant deputy minister for the cybersecurity branch, told National Post Tuesday.
'And so, anything that can make the legislation clearer and provide as much understanding to stakeholders, those are the kind of things that we'll always consider,' he added, noting that government amendments to the bill are ultimately up to the minister of public safety and MPs.
Government officials from Public Safety, the RCMP, CSIS and Justice Canada organized the briefing in response to growing concerns from civil liberty advocates, business groups, technology companies and senior U.S. Republican politicians about the powers Bill C-22 proposes for police and Canada's spy agency. The bill is currently being studied at the Commons Public Safety committee, where a wide range of witnesses have pressed the government to either narrow the legislation or add more judicial or watchdog oversight.
The ability to obtain Canadians' private information and intercept communications, known as 'lawful access,' is one of the most intrusive powers afforded to police and intelligence agencies. Creating such a regime for the digital age in Canada has been the subject of fierce debate for decades.
In Bill C-22, the government is proposing that police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) only be able to approach telecommunications companies and ask them if, yes or no, an individual is a client before having to get a warrant for more information. The bill also proposes new obligations to electronic service providers to organize and retain various types of client data for up to one year in a way that makes it obtainable by law enforcement or CSIS with a warrant.
That means that if passed, the bill would compel electronic service providers to store and make information like device locations or cameras available to police or CSIS with the requisite warrant. That could be used to track a person's live location in case they pose a threat to national security or are considered to be in danger, the government cited as examples.
Canadian police and intelligence agencies have long complained that the country lags significantly behind its G7 counterparts because it does not have a lawful access regime adapted to the digital age. They argue that investigations that increasingly rely on obtaining digital or telecommunications evidence, such as the crimes of child sex abuse material or extortion, are increasingly hampered or simply foiled because police can't access the proof they need fast enough.
