Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
On March 12, 2026, the Canadian Public Safety Minister tabled Bill C-22 in Parliament: the Lawful Access Act, 2026, which will create new police information demands and require "electronic service providers" to create new capabilities for the interception and retrieval of data for the police and national security authorities. Part 1 is much improved since it was first introduced as Part 14 of the "Strong Borders Act." Part 2, however, is deeply problematic as it has the potential to create a expansive surveillance infrastructure -- mostly in the shadows -- beyond what I think Canadians can tolerate.
0:27 Bill C-22 in a nutshell
1:36 History of “lawful access” attempts in Canada
3:35 Outline of the episode
4:10 Computer search warrants
5:00 Confirmation of service demands
9:16 Production order – subscriber information
10:27 What is “subscriber information”?
12:24 Foreign entity information requests
13:50 Gag orders
14:14 Judicial review of production orders
15:03 Voluntary disclosure of information
16:10 “Publicly available information”
17:25 Exigent circumstances
17:48 Track all the things
18:57 Part 2 – Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act
21:09 The “purposes” of SAAIA
21:58 What are “electronic service providers”
24:07 “Core providers”
24:36 Obligations on “core providers”
25:48 New retention obligations for core providers
28:00 No obligation to introduce “systemic vulnerabilities”
29:43 Secret ministerial orders
31:17 Obligations to assist
32:25 Draconian confidentiality obligations
33:10 International implications
33:42 Requirements for judicial review
33:54 Confidentiality and security regulations
34:45 Backdoors can be exploited by bad guys
36:10 The government’s justification for these powers
38:53 If you build it, they will come
Where you can find me
► Privacylawyer blog: blog.privacylawyer.ca
► My law firm: mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser
► Twitter: twitter.com/privacylawyer
► LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser
Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel.
All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.
On March 12, 2026, the Canadian Public Safety Minister tabled Bill C-22 in Parliament: the Lawful Access Act, 2026, which will create new police information demands and require "electronic service providers" to create new capabilities for the interception and retrieval of data for the police and national security authorities. Part 1 is much improved since it was first introduced as Part 14 of the "Strong Borders Act." Part 2, however, is deeply problematic as it has the potential to create a expansive surveillance infrastructure -- mostly in the shadows -- beyond what I think Canadians can tolerate.
0:27 Bill C-22 in a nutshell
1:36 History of “lawful access” attempts in Canada
3:35 Outline of the episode
4:10 Computer search warrants
5:00 Confirmation of service demands
9:16 Production order – subscriber information
10:27 What is “subscriber information”?
12:24 Foreign entity information requests
13:50 Gag orders
14:14 Judicial review of production orders
15:03 Voluntary disclosure of information
16:10 “Publicly available information”
17:25 Exigent circumstances
17:48 Track all the things
18:57 Part 2 – Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act
21:09 The “purposes” of SAAIA
21:58 What are “electronic service providers”
24:07 “Core providers”
24:36 Obligations on “core providers”
25:48 New retention obligations for core providers
28:00 No obligation to introduce “systemic vulnerabilities”
29:43 Secret ministerial orders
31:17 Obligations to assist
32:25 Draconian confidentiality obligations
33:10 International implications
33:42 Requirements for judicial review
33:54 Confidentiality and security regulations
34:45 Backdoors can be exploited by bad guys
36:10 The government’s justification for these powers
38:53 If you build it, they will come
Where you can find me
► Privacylawyer blog: blog.privacylawyer.ca
► My law firm: mcinnescooper.com/people/david-fraser
► Twitter: twitter.com/privacylawyer
► LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidtsfraser
Disclaimer: This is intended for education and information only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you need advice for your particular situation, you should seek out qualified counsel.
All views expressed are solely those of the creator and should not be attributed to his firm or any of its clients.
