After having tried with Bill C-2, the federal government pushes forward again with Bill C-22. We note these major changes:
- Police orders given to a service provider would now be based only on "suspicion" instead of "belief", lowering significantly the burden of proof.
- A federal minister can issue secret ministerial orders that order a service provider to install "backdoors" in their system, allowing the police to have real-time access to all data stored there.
- If the service provider fails to compile certain data, the policy may order them to do so.
This kind of law has already been in place in the US for a long time, and has opened the door to major problems. For instance, "backdoors" were obtained by foreign agents who used them for industrial espionage: The Wall Street Journal - U.S. Wiretap Systems Targeted in China-Linked Hack
Passing such a law will make our systems more vulnerable, especially at a time where internet attacks are widespread through the use of AI agents. We have a duty to secure our systems, to regain control of our data, and not to make them more fallible... moreover, by secret decrees that are not subject to supervision by the National Assembly.
At a time when several governments are increasingly turning to fascism, we wonder about the authoritarian turns of current bills and their impact on our rights and freedoms. The drift observed in several countries (United States, Russia, Hungary, etc.) demonstrates the importance of questioning and joining forces against the adoption of these laws, and this necessarily involves protecting our privacy.
Koumbit therefore joins the call of the Ligue des droits et libertés and invite you to do the same: Appel conjoint au retrait du projet de loi C-22 – Une architecture de surveillance sans précédent - English pdf version of the letter
This other article from La Presse gives more details (in French): Ottawa pourrait faciliter l’espionnage de votre téléphone, dated May 14 2026
