Justice Centre report calls for eight-step roadmap to restore Canadians' privacy

The report proposes eight legislative reforms to restore privacy protections:

• Amend the changes enacted under Bill C-8, An Act respecting cyber security, to prohibit broad government access to subscriber information and restore stronger legal thresholds and judicial oversight for searches and seizures;

• Amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to require judicial authorization before personal financial information is disclosed to law enforcement or other government agencies, delete information that does not lead to an intelligence disclosure, and limit mandatory reporting to transactions for which there are reasonable grounds to believe they are linked to criminal activity;

• Amend the Customs Act to require judicial or other constitutionally adequate independent authorization before border officials search the digital contents of personal electronic devices, which now provide a window into nearly every aspect of a person’s private life, including communications, financial information, movements, relationships, health information, beliefs, and online activity;

• Reject Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, which has passed the House of Commons and is awaiting Senate consideration. The Bill would lower legal thresholds for obtaining subscriber information, expand secret government orders, and require electronic service providers to retain Canadians' metadata;

• Reject Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which could require all Canadians to verify their age or identity to access regulated social media platforms and could lead to greater monitoring of private online and artificial intelligence conversations;

• Strengthen the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) by requiring meaningful and informed consent for the collection of data, imposing stronger data retention limits and deletion requirements, and prohibiting companies from voluntarily disclosing Canadians' personal information to government institutions except in genuine emergencies or with judicial authorization;

• Amend the proposed Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act (PPCDA), which would replace PIPEDA, by preserving independent oversight by the Privacy Commissioner, strengthening deletion rights, restricting warrantless disclosures to government, requiring notification when personal information is disclosed, and ensuring Canadians have meaningful control over the collection and use of their data; and

• Strengthen the federal Privacy Act, the law regulating government data practices, by limiting government collection of citizens' personal information to what is demonstrably necessary, tightening retention limits and deletion rules, requiring stronger safeguards and judicial authorization for disclosures to investigative bodies, mandating notification when personal information is disclosed, and requiring more robust Privacy Impact Assessments.

Report author Nigel Hannaford said, "Privacy is the foundation of a free society. Canadians cannot fully exercise their freedoms of expression, association, religion, or conscience if they believe governments or corporations are constantly watching what they read, say, buy, or believe."

He concluded, “This report shows that Parliament can reverse that trend with practical legislative reforms."

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