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encryption

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AccountabilityJune 19, 20266 min read
In a Single Day, the Lawful Access Bill Cleared Committee, Report Stage, and Third Reading. The Privacy Law Meant to Balance It Is Parked Until 2030.
Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act (full title: "An Act respecting lawful access"), passed third reading in the House of Commons on June 18, 2026 and received first reading in the Senate the same day. According to Parliament's own LEGISinfo record, committee consideration, report stage, and third reading all occurred on June 18 — the bill having been at first reading since March 12 and referred to committee on April 20. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist reported that the government limited clause-by-clause committee review to 30 minutes, after which remaining amendments were voted on with no further debate, and that government amendments were not publicly disclosed while opposition amendments — drawn from testimony by the Privacy Commissioner, bar associations, and security experts — were neither released nor debated. The bill lowers the threshold for compelling subscriber information to "reasonable grounds to suspect," which Geist describes as the lowest investigative standard in Canadian criminal law, down from "reasonable grounds to believe." It also authorizes regulations requiring providers to retain categories of metadata for up to one year, and to build interception capability. Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne told committee on May 28 the wording could expose a subscriber's healthcare providers, lawyers, or financial institutions, and urged judicial warrants wherever Canadians retain a reasonable expectation of privacy. Apple, Signal, and NordVPN raised encryption objections, with Signal and NordVPN signalling they could exit Canada. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police president, Thomas Carrique, told committee the privacy concerns were "overstated" and that the debate should not overlook victims' rights to safety and justice. C-22 is the standalone successor to the lawful-access provisions originally in the 2025 omnibus Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, whose broader warrantless powers were removed in October 2025 after backlash. Separately, Bill C-36 — the government's private-sector privacy modernization — is not expected to take effect until roughly 2030 and transfers private-sector privacy enforcement from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to a new Cabinet-appointed Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission. This article documents what passed, how fast, who objected, and the gap between the speed of the surveillance bill and the delay on the privacy bill.

In a Single Day, the Lawful Access Bill Cleared Committee, Report Stage, and Third Reading. The Privacy Law Meant to Balance It Is Parked Until 2030.

Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act (full title: "An Act respecting lawful access"), passed third reading in the House of Commons on June 18, 2026 and received first reading in the Senate the same day. According to Parliament's own LEGISinfo record, committee consideration, report stage, and third reading all occurred on June 18 — the bill having been at first reading since March 12 and referred to committee on April 20. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist reported that the government limited clause-by-clause committee review to 30 minutes, after which remaining amendments were voted on with no further debate, and that government amendments were not publicly disclosed while opposition amendments — drawn from testimony by the Privacy Commissioner, bar associations, and security experts — were neither released nor debated. The bill lowers the threshold for compelling subscriber information to "reasonable grounds to suspect," which Geist describes as the lowest investigative standard in Canadian criminal law, down from "reasonable grounds to believe." It also authorizes regulations requiring providers to retain categories of metadata for up to one year, and to build interception capability. Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne told committee on May 28 the wording could expose a subscriber's healthcare providers, lawyers, or financial institutions, and urged judicial warrants wherever Canadians retain a reasonable expectation of privacy. Apple, Signal, and NordVPN raised encryption objections, with Signal and NordVPN signalling they could exit Canada. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police president, Thomas Carrique, told committee the privacy concerns were "overstated" and that the debate should not overlook victims' rights to safety and justice. C-22 is the standalone successor to the lawful-access provisions originally in the 2025 omnibus Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, whose broader warrantless powers were removed in October 2025 after backlash. Separately, Bill C-36 — the government's private-sector privacy modernization — is not expected to take effect until roughly 2030 and transfers private-sector privacy enforcement from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to a new Cabinet-appointed Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission. This article documents what passed, how fast, who objected, and the gap between the speed of the surveillance bill and the delay on the privacy bill.