The Canadian government rushed through a flurry of bills last week before the House of Commons rose for the summer break, including the controversial Bill C-22, which has faced heavy criticism for its potential impacts on privacy and encryption.
The bill was passed on June 18 and included several amendments intended to address criticisms. However, some critics, including search giant Google, say the changes don’t go far enough.
Apple, Meta, and Google were among the big names that slammed the government during consultations, citing both privacy and security issues, with the messaging app Signal even threatening to pull out of Canada.
Some of these amendments included explicitly stating that the bill would not require the decryption of encrypted information, and reducing the metadata retention period to six months rather than a year, which Google recommended shouldn’t be retained at all.
A Google spokesperson told the National Post that the company “believe[s] the government can support law enforcement without resorting to secret ministerial orders that put Canadians at risk.”
Shifting focus back to the bill itself, it was passed just a day after the government approved a motion to fast-track the bill and end debate in the public safety committee, which managed to scrutinize and pass roughly a dozen amendments in 25 hours of clause-by-clause debate. Included in this debate was the government, the RCMP, and Canadian Security and Intelligence Service officials.
Debates were shut down during the final meeting on the bill, which happened late Wednesday night.
According to Global News, Government House leader Steven MacKinnon told reporters on Thursday that “Every day matters in this place and a legislative achievement matters.” MacKinnon also mentioned that “The Senate can now take this up as soon as they return.”
The government has risen for its summer break, and MPs will return to parliament on Sept. 21. As for Bill C-22, it’s not set for Senate review in the fall.
Source: National Post, Global News
