Kate Robertson, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab provided a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence, and Veterans Affairs, that contributes to the ongoing consideration of Bill C-26, which seeks to give the federal government the power to impose cybersecurity regulations on telecom and critical infrastructure providers in Canada.
Drawing from the analysis presented in a 2022 Citizen Lab research report titled, “Cybersecurity Will Not Thrive in Darkness: A Critical Analysis of Proposed Amendments in Bill C-26 to the Telecommunications Act,” Robertson’s submission addresses key vulnerabilities in mobile communications networks, the unprecedented impact Bill C-26 would have on constitutional rights, and its potential to undermine encryption standards in Canada’s telecommunication landscape.
With a series of recommendations, Robertson’s submission to the Senate Standing Committee addresses these concerns and urges that Bill C-26 be amended to prohibit any action that will compel telecom providers to compromise security protocols and encryption standards. She emphasizes further that the bill proposes to create a broad and warrantless power to collect personal and de-identified information from telecommunication companies, and to disclose that information to federal agencies including national security bodies. The absence of any federal court oversight of this proposed power is a significant gap and constitutional deficiency in the bill.
The Citizen Lab’s full submission to the Standing Committee is available as a PDF. You can also watch Kate’s testimony here.