CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that it has submitted a parliamentary brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, warning that Bill C-22 poses a serious threat to Canadians’ privacy rights. The brief was submitted while the Committee reviews the Bill following its passage at Second Reading.
The brief identifies two major privacy concerns within Bill C-22.
First, the Bill would create a new production order allowing police to obtain detailed subscriber information, including names, addresses, account details, device identifiers, and information about the types of services a person receives, based on a standard of “reasonable suspicion” rather than the higher constitutional standard of “reasonable grounds to believe.” The proposed power could also apply to professionals such as doctors, psychologists, lawyers, and counsellors, whose records may contain highly sensitive personal information.
Second, the Bill would enact the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act (SAAIA), requiring electronic service providers across Canada to retain metadata, including location and transmission data, for up to one year. The brief warns that this would create a mandatory data retention and access regime through secret ministerial orders approved by an Intelligence Commissioner rather than a court, with strict gag provisions limiting public transparency.
The Justice Centre argues that these provisions violate section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects Canadians against unreasonable search and seizure. According to the brief, Bill C-22 undermines Canadians’ reasonable expectation of privacy by lowering the threshold for accessing sensitive information and by compelling the creation and retention of data that would otherwise be deleted.
The brief also notes that courts in Europe have struck down similar mandatory metadata retention laws as disproportionate and that comparable powers have led to documented abuses in other countries. Australia’s 2015 mandatory metadata retention scheme, for example, resulted in more than 3,000 users’ data being unlawfully accessed by police, including journalists’ data.
“Privacy is the shield of a free people,” said John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre. “Canadians deserve security without sacrificing privacy.”
The Justice Centre urges the Committee to recommend substantial amendments to the Bill, including removing the proposed production order, eliminating mandatory data retention requirements, requiring full judicial oversight, and adding a sunset clause. Without these changes, the Justice Centre argues that Bill C-22 should not proceed.
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization fighting for Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.
