CCLA’s Submission on Bill C-26 Regarding Privacy Concerns in Federal Cybersecurity Legislation

Daniel Konikoff (Interim Director of the Privacy, Technology & Surveillance program) and Tashi Alford-Duguid (Staff Lawyer) made a written submission to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) regarding Bill C-26, Loi sur la cybersécurité, modifiant la Loi sur les télécommunications et d'autres lois en conséquence.  

In this submission, CCLA addresses the concerns Bill C-26 raises for human rights and civil liberties with a particular focus on privacy. Cybersecurity is an essential part of national security, and the digital ecosystem in which we increasingly live our lives needs to be safe, reliable, and secure from threats. Cybersecurity is also crucial for our democratic institutions, the economy, critical infrastructure, national defence, and the privacy of our online life. It is important that Canada take steps toward protecting the digital foundations on which modern life is built. However, in its current form, Bill C-26 risks undermining our privacy rights, due process, and the principles of accountable governance—all of which are part of the very fabric of our democracy.  

This submission makes recommendations for how Bill C-26 can improve the way government and telecommunication companies define, handle, and protect individuals’ personal information and thus protect individuals’ right to privacy. Privacy is, after all, an essential component of individuals’ personal sense of security, both off- and online, and stands to be positioned more centrally in C-26. 

See here for the complete written submission: 

Anglais 

English