by Laura Harris
June 10, 2015
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- The Strong Border Act, introduced by the Canadian government, includes provisions allowing law enforcement to obtain subscriber information without a warrant, measures critics say have nothing to do with border security.
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- These surveillance provisions echo long-defeated efforts by authorities to gain warrantless access to digital data, despite repeated pushback from courts, Parliament and the public.
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- The bill allows police to compel telecom providers to confirm user information and data locations without court approval, based only on suspicion that a crime may occur.
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- Experts argue Bill C-2 sidesteps Supreme Court rulings, R. v. Spencer (2014) and Bykovets (2023), which affirmed Canadians’ privacy rights and required warrants for such digital data access.
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- Critics say the surveillance clauses were deliberately hidden in a border-focused bill to avoid scrutiny, using national security as cover for controversial digital privacy rollbacks.
A new piece of federal legislation, introduced by the Canadian government, is drawing sharp criticism from privacy advocates and legal scholars who warn that the bill conceals sweeping new surveillance powers unrelated to border security.
The Strong Border Act (Bill C-2), touted by the government as a necessary measure to “enhance the integrity of Canada’s borders,” buries provisions that would grant law enforcement expanded authority to obtain subscriber information from telecommunications service providers without the need for a warrant.
These provisions echo long-standing efforts by police and intelligence agencies to revive the so-called “lawful access” agenda, which seeks to give authorities easier access to digital information. The tactic of embedding them in a border-security bill is a calculated move to sidestep public scrutiny and legislative resistance.
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Author: Michael Easton
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