Reports

How politicians wielded the extraordinary powers of the Emergencies Act – illegally invoked by Prime Minister Trudeau in February 2022 – exposed how rapidly Canada’s surveillance state has advanced, undermining Canadians’ privacy, anonymity, security, autonomy and dignity. Now, under border security and cybersecurity pretexts, parliamentary Bills C-2 and C-8 would, if passed, extend the reach of the federal government’s surveillance apparatus to online service providers, which would compel online service providers to provide confidential subscriber data without a warrant, weaken encryption, and disconnect users without judicial oversight or notice to users. This report warns of a fundamental reordering of the relationship between citizen and state, urges Canadians to demand that their Members of Parliament defeat or amend these bills, and further urges those in power to strengthen legislative protections for privacy in Canada.