BRIAN LILLEY
TORONTO SUN
Warrantless searches, seizing your private data without your consent or knowledge and suspending any law the federal government deems not to be in the national interest. Those are just some of the worrisome moves contained in Bill C-2 and Bill C-5 introduced by the Carney Liberals.
If Prime Minister Mark Carney has his way, both bills would be passed this week, giving the federal government, police and federal agents sweeping powers with little debate or study.
Bill C-2 focuses on border measures and national security while Bill C-5 is concerned with fixing Canada’s economy. Both have valid goals, and both have good provisions in them that are long overdue.
They also both contain worrying aspects that has resulted in criticism left, right and centre. The government has been criticized on Bill C-5 specifically by the Conservatives, the NDP, the Bloc Quebecois and even rogue Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
It’s even been denounced by First Nations leaders.
One of the main problems with the bill is the power it would give to the federal cabinet to decide that a project is in the national interest and then suspend certain laws to allow the project to go forward quickly. The NDP, Bloc and First Nations leaders are concerned that environmental laws will be bypassed to allow projects to proceed.
In Question Period on Monday, Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said the real problem is the existing Liberal policies that stop major projects from going ahead. The Conservatives want the Liberals to repeal the bad policies, like C-69 or the tanker ban, rather than give what Lantsman called a “hall pass” to certain projects while other projects still have to play by the same rules.
Right now, the bill lists 13 acts that cabinet could suspend for a project in the national interest, but it also gives cabinet the ability to add any other federal law to that list.
Bill C-5 could face an uphill battle to get passed in its current form.
The main problem with Bill C-2, which makes border and immigration changes, is that it would give Canadian police the ability to go to your mobile phone provider or internet service company and demand your data and any other information they have on you.
The so-called lawful access provisions bear a striking resemblance to provisions in Bill C-30, a Harper-era bill from 2012. Of course, the previous Liberal government had introduced similar measures prior to the Harper Conservatives getting elected.
Neither party has clean hands on these sorts of measures which are sought after by law enforcement but shunned by civil libertarians who rightly warn of a surveillance state.
At a time when Canadians are freaking out about stories of American border guards demanding to look through their mobile phones at the border, giving Canadian police the power to scoop up your data without a warrant probably isn’t a good idea.
Beyond the public dislike, the Supreme Court ruled against warrantless data collection like this in 2014. Any attempt to enshrine the practice in law would likely lead to another legal battle that the government would surely lose in court.
That’s if these provisions pass through the House of Commons given that they have received criticism from all the opposition parties as well.
Both bills were introduced just two weeks ago and the Carney Liberals want them passed by the end of the week. They have not had the kind of rigorous study they need to find and fix flaws like the ones highlighted above.
This is what you get when you try to rush things.