{"id":7049484,"date":"2026-08-27T22:27:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T22:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/legal\/keep-an-eye-on-parliament-this-fall\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T22:27:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T22:27:04","slug":"keep-an-eye-on-parliament-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049484","title":{"rendered":"Keep an eye on Parliament this fall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-body-3649022266671849710\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Privacy, Online Harms and Lawful Access: Keep an eye on Parliament this fall\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yq41GFhz0mY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Privacy, Online Harms and Lawful Access: Keep an eye on Parliament this fall\" allowtransparency=\"true\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/player-v2\/?i=y24cu-1b41095-pb&amp;from=pb6admin&amp;share=1&amp;download=1&amp;rtl=0&amp;fonts=Arial&amp;skin=1&amp;font-color=auto&amp;logo_link=episode_page&amp;btn-skin=7\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">If<br \/>\nyou care about privacy, the internet, artificial intelligence, social media,<br \/>\nfree expression, cybersecurity or government surveillance, you probably want to<br \/>\nkeep an eye on Ottawa this fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Because<br \/>\nParliament comes back from its summer break on September 21st, and waiting for<br \/>\nMPs and Senators are three important pieces of legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">We<br \/>\nhave <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/LegisInfo\/en\/bill\/45-1\/C-34\" target=\"_blank\">Bill C-34, the <b>Safe Social Media Act<\/b><\/a>, which would create an<br \/>\nentirely new regulatory regime for social media, online harms and AI chatbots.<br \/>\nIncluding a social media ban for anyone under 16.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">We<br \/>\nhave <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/LegisInfo\/en\/bill\/45-1\/C-36\" target=\"_blank\">Bill C-36, the <b>Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act<\/b><\/a>, which<br \/>\nwould repeal and replace the privacy portions of PIPEDA \u2014 Canada&#8217;s<br \/>\nprivate-sector privacy law for the last quarter-century.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthen we have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/LegisInfo\/en\/bill\/45-1\/C-22\" target=\"_blank\">Bill C-22, the <b>Lawful Access Act, 2026<\/b><\/a>, which has already<br \/>\nmade it through the House of Commons and is now sitting in the Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Each<br \/>\none of these bills would be important on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Taken<br \/>\ntogether, this could be one of the most consequential sessions of Parliament<br \/>\nfor Canadian privacy and digital policy that we&#8217;ve seen in years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Hi.<br \/>\nMy name is David Fraser. I&#8217;m a privacy, internet and technology lawyer with the<br \/>\nCanadian law firm McInnes Cooper. I also teach Internet and Media Law at the<br \/>\nSchulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">I&#8217;ve<br \/>\nalready done detailed episodes on each of these bills, so I&#8217;m not going to go<br \/>\nthrough every clause again. I\u2019ll link to the previous episodes below. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Instead,<br \/>\nI want to talk about where these bills stand, what they would actually do, and<br \/>\n\u2014 most importantly \u2014 what we should be watching when Parliament gets back to<br \/>\nwork this fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 1: Three Different Bills \u2014 One Enormous Digital Policy Agenda<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">I<br \/>\nthink it&#8217;s useful to start by looking at these three bills together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Because<br \/>\nthey deal with different things, but they really are pieces of the same larger<br \/>\npicture. And I think a fourth piece is coming. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-34 is about what online platforms are required to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 is about what organizations can do with our personal information and<br \/>\nhow they are regulated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nBill C-22 is about how law enforcement and national security agencies can<br \/>\nobtain information and what technological capabilities companies may be<br \/>\nrequired to build to facilitate that access.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nwe are talking about regulation of platforms. Regulation of data. And<br \/>\ngovernment access to data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\nis a pretty significant chunk of Canada&#8217;s digital policy landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthere is another important connection between C-34 and C-36.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-34 creates a new Digital Safety Commission of Canada. Bill C-36 would expand<br \/>\nand restructure that institution into a Digital Safety and Data Protection<br \/>\nCommission of Canada, which would also become central to the enforcement of<br \/>\nCanada&#8217;s new private-sector privacy law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">In<br \/>\nother words, we aren&#8217;t just talking about three new statutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">We<br \/>\nmay be watching the construction of an entirely new federal digital regulatory<br \/>\narchitecture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nI fully expect we will have a bill to regulate artificial intelligence, and I<br \/>\nbet the Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission will also have oversight<br \/>\nof AI. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\ndeserves attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_g42esxpncyqm\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 2: Bill C-34 \u2014 The Safe Social Media Act<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Let&#8217;s<br \/>\nstart with Bill C-34.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\ngovernment introduced the Safe Social Media Act on June 10th, just before<br \/>\nParliament rose for the summer. It received first reading and is now sitting at<br \/>\nsecond reading in the House of Commons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">This<br \/>\nis essentially the government&#8217;s replacement for Bill C-63, the Online Harms<br \/>\nAct, which died when Parliament was prorogued before the last election.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">But<br \/>\nC-34 isn&#8217;t simply C-63 with a new name.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare some pretty significant changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nlegislation would regulate three broad categories of services: social media<br \/>\nservices, AI chatbot services and potentially other highly interactive online<br \/>\nservices that the government considers sufficiently risky to children. Exactly<br \/>\nwhich services are caught will depend enormously on regulations that have not<br \/>\nyet been written.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Perhaps<br \/>\nthe most significant addition between C-63 and Bill C-34 is a social media ban<br \/>\nfor those under 16. Bill C-34 says that users have to be at least <b>16 years<br \/>\nold<\/b> to have an account on a regulated social media service unless the<br \/>\nservice obtains an exemption from the new Commission. And the ban will surely<br \/>\ngo into effect before the Commission has established criteria for exemptions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">It<br \/>\nalso requires age-assurance measures for services carrying pornographic<br \/>\ncontent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthat creates a glaring privacy problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">To<br \/>\nkeep people under 16 off social media, social media companies have to figure<br \/>\nout who is under 16.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Which<br \/>\nmeans they have to determine the age of <b>everybody<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nlegislation promoted as a child-safety measure could result in an enormous new<br \/>\ninfrastructure for age verification or age estimation across the Canadian<br \/>\ninternet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\nis going to raise some very difficult questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">What<br \/>\ninformation are companies going to collect to establish age?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Do<br \/>\nyou have to upload government identification?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Can<br \/>\nplatforms use facial age-estimation technology?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Can<br \/>\nthird-party identity providers do this?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">What<br \/>\ndata gets retained?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nperhaps most fundamentally: how much additional information should adults have<br \/>\nto provide about themselves just to use an online service?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare also very significant freedom-of-expression questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Despite<br \/>\nsome people comparing \u201cBig Tech\u201d with \u201cBig Tobacco\u201d, social media is not<br \/>\ncigarettes or booze or gambling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Social<br \/>\nmedia is fundamentally a medium of expression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Young<br \/>\npeople use it to communicate with friends, participate in political<br \/>\ndiscussions, organize, create art, learn about the world and express<br \/>\nthemselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nan outright age restriction raises Charter questions that I expect will receive<br \/>\nconsiderable attention if this bill gets to committee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-34 also creates four broad categories of duties for regulated operators:<br \/>\nduties to protect children, to be transparent, to act responsibly, and to make<br \/>\ncertain content inaccessible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nlegislation continues to regulate seven categories of harmful content, ranging<br \/>\nfrom intimate content communicated without consent and content that victimizes<br \/>\nchildren through to bullying, hatred, violence and violent extremism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nAI is explicitly part of this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Regulated<br \/>\nchatbot services would have obligations designed to prevent them from<br \/>\nimpersonating human beings or professionals and from encouraging unhealthy<br \/>\nemotional relationships with users.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Synthetic<br \/>\naudio and visual content would also have to be identified in certain<br \/>\ncircumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nthis isn&#8217;t just a social-media law. It will affect a LOT of the internet. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">It&#8217;s<br \/>\nalso one of Canada&#8217;s first significant attempts to directly regulate<br \/>\nconsumer-facing generative AI.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthen there is the regulator itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nnew Digital Safety Commission would have significant investigation, rule-making<br \/>\nand enforcement powers, backed by potentially enormous administrative monetary<br \/>\npenalties \u2014 up to the greater of $20 million or five percent of global gross<br \/>\nrevenue in some circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">A<br \/>\nHUGE amount of the actual operation of this legislation is also left to future<br \/>\nregulations and rules made by the Commission. And, as a result, so much will be<br \/>\ndetermined by who is appointed to the Commission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nwhen C-34 gets to committee, I would expect a lot of attention to be focused<br \/>\nnot just on what the bill says, but on how much Parliament is being asked to<br \/>\nleave for somebody else to decide later.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_x47edvw7s8g6\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 3: What to Watch on C-34 This Fall<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare four things I&#8217;ll particularly be watching.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">First,<br \/>\n<b>the 16-year-old social media restriction<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Does<br \/>\nit survive in its current form?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\nif it does, what safeguards are added around age verification?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Second,<br \/>\n<b>freedom of expression<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Does<br \/>\nParliament seriously grapple with the Charter implications of excluding younger<br \/>\nCanadians from major platforms for communication and expression? It will be<br \/>\ninteresting to see how the government tries to stickhandle this in their<br \/>\nCharter Statement for Bill C-34.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Third,<br \/>\n<b>the scope of the legislation<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How<br \/>\nfar beyond Facebook, Instagram and TikTok does this go?\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;\">Gaming?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">YouTube?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Online<br \/>\ncommunities?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">AI<br \/>\nservices?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nmore services that can potentially be brought in by regulation, the more<br \/>\nimportant that question becomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\nfourth, <\/span><b style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">the power of the regulator<\/b><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Parliament<br \/>\nshould be very careful whenever it creates a powerful new administrative agency<br \/>\nand says, essentially, &#8220;We&#8217;ll work out a lot of the important details<br \/>\nlater.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">My<br \/>\nexpectation is that C-34 will be a significant government priority this fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Online<br \/>\nsafety \u2014 particularly child safety \u2014 has enormous political appeal.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">But<br \/>\nthat does not mean the details don&#8217;t matter. In fact, it means the details<br \/>\nmatter even more. If they&#8217;re going to be so ambitious, they need to really try<br \/>\nto get it right.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_qyekbqoys5w1\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 4: Bill C-36 \u2014 Replacing PIPEDA<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Then<br \/>\nwe have Bill C-36.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">This<br \/>\none was introduced on June 15th \u2014 only a few days before the House packed up<br \/>\nfor the summer \u2014 and it is also waiting at second reading.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">If<br \/>\nC-34 is politically flashy, C-36 may actually have the broader long-term<br \/>\neffect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Because<br \/>\nBill C-36 would repeal Part 1 of PIPEDA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">PIPEDA<br \/>\nhas been Canada&#8217;s federal private-sector privacy law since 2001.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">For<br \/>\ntwenty-five years, it has governed how businesses collect, use and disclose<br \/>\npersonal information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 would replace that regime with a completely new statute called the <b>Protecting<br \/>\nPrivacy and Consumer Data Act<\/b>, or PPCDA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">We&#8217;ve<br \/>\nbeen here before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-11 tried to replace PIPEDA in 2020. It didn\u2019t proceed.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-27 tried again in 2022. It didn\u2019t proceed.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">So<br \/>\nBill C-36 is kick number three at this particular can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Much<br \/>\nof the substance will be familiar to anyone who followed Bill C-27.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare more detailed accountability requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Documented<br \/>\nprivacy management programs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">More<br \/>\ndetailed consent rules.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">New<br \/>\nconsent exceptions based on business activities and legitimate interests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Formal<br \/>\nrules dealing with anonymized and de-identified information.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">A<br \/>\nright to disposal of personal information.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Data<br \/>\nmobility.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Privacy<br \/>\nimpact assessments for international transfers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Much<br \/>\nstronger enforcement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nenormous potential penalties.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Administrative<br \/>\nmonetary penalties can reach the greater of $10 million or three percent of<br \/>\nglobal gross revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nserious offences can attract fines of up to the greater of $25 million or five<br \/>\npercent of global gross revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\nshould get the attention of corporate boards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">But<br \/>\nperhaps the most interesting change is institutional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">For<br \/>\nalmost twenty-five years, federal private-sector privacy law has been overseen<br \/>\nby the Privacy Commissioner of Canada \u2014 an independent officer of Parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 would fundamentally change that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nexisting Privacy Commissioner would no longer be the regulator administering<br \/>\nthis law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Instead,<br \/>\nwe would get a new Privacy and Consumer Data Commissioner operating inside this<br \/>\nbroader Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission. That Commission would<br \/>\nalso function as a tribunal when organizations challenge findings and<br \/>\npenalties. And I think that is going to be one of the most important issues<br \/>\nParliament has to examine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Why<br \/>\nare we moving privacy regulation away from an independent officer of<br \/>\nParliament? What problem is that intended to solve?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">How<br \/>\nindependent will the new Privacy and Consumer Data Commissioner actually be?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nhave sufficient institutional walls been built between the investigative side<br \/>\nand the tribunal side?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">I<br \/>\ndon&#8217;t particularly like the idea of having the investigator, prosecutor and<br \/>\nadjudicator all living under one institutional roof.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Maybe<br \/>\nthat structure can work. But if that&#8217;s what Parliament wants to create, the<br \/>\nfirewalls need to be very clear and I don\u2019t see them in the text of the Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_fdsns3ln00kv\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 5: The Other Big C-36 Issues<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare a bunch of substantive issues I expect will get attention at committee.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Consent<br \/>\nis one.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 requires organizations to provide considerably more information for<br \/>\nconsent to be valid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">At<br \/>\nthe same time, it introduces broader alternatives to consent through legitimate<br \/>\ninterests and specified business activities.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">So<br \/>\nParliament is simultaneously making consent more demanding and creating more<br \/>\ncircumstances in which organizations don&#8217;t need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\ntension deserves some careful thought. It works in Europe, but we\u2019re not doing<br \/>\nexactly what they\u2019ve done in Europe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">International<br \/>\ntransfers are another.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Organizations<br \/>\ntransferring personal information outside Canada would have to undertake<br \/>\nprivacy impact assessments.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">That&#8217;s<br \/>\na significant departure from the relatively technology-neutral accountability<br \/>\nmodel we&#8217;ve had under PIPEDA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthen there is the private right of action.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 would allow an individual affected by a contravention to sue for loss or<br \/>\ninjury arising from it, including in provincial superior courts.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I<br \/>\nthink that provision needs considerable work.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Depending<br \/>\non how it is interpreted, a privacy contravention involving millions of<br \/>\nindividuals could produce an enormous multiplicity of proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nis also a bigger policy question.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What<br \/>\ndo we actually want Canadian privacy law to accomplish in 2026 and beyond?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">We&#8217;re<br \/>\nnow writing the law that could govern data processing for another generation.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This<br \/>\nis not the place for Parliament to rush.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-36 isn&#8217;t a tune-up. It is a wholesale replacement of Canada&#8217;s federal<br \/>\nprivate-sector privacy regime.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_8gzyuhpynbm2\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 6: Bill C-22 \u2014 Lawful Access Goes to the Senate<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthen we come to Bill C-22.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This<br \/>\none is at a completely different stage.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Unlike<br \/>\nC-34 and C-36, Bill C-22 made it through the House before the summer break.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On<br \/>\nJune 18th, the House passed Bill C-22 at third reading, and the Senate gave it<br \/>\nfirst reading that same day. So when Parliament returns, the lawful-access<br \/>\ndebate moves principally to the Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">If<br \/>\nyou&#8217;ve watched my previous episode, you know I have some pretty significant<br \/>\nconcerns about this bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill C-22 has two major substantive pieces.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Part<br \/>\n1 creates new and modified investigative tools.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nis a new <b>confirmation-of-service demand<\/b>, allowing police and CSIS in<br \/>\nspecified circumstances to require telecommunications service providers to<br \/>\nconfirm whether they provide services associated with a person or identifier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nis a new subscriber-information production order operating on the relatively<br \/>\nlow threshold of reasonable grounds to suspect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare changes dealing with voluntary disclosure, publicly available information,<br \/>\ntracking orders, transmission data and other investigative powers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">This<br \/>\npart is considerably better than what the government originally proposed in<br \/>\nBill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, but I still have issues with Part 1.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part<br \/>\n2 is where I remain much more concerned.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">It<br \/>\ncreates the <\/span><b style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act<\/b><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">That<br \/>\nlaw would create a framework under which electronic service providers can be<br \/>\nrequired to build and maintain technical capabilities to facilitate authorized<br \/>\ngovernment access to information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\n&#8220;electronic service provider&#8221; is defined VERY broadly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">We&#8217;re<br \/>\nnot just talking about Bell, Rogers and Telus. We&#8217;re likely talking about cloud<br \/>\nproviders, social media services, online gaming companies, messaging services,<br \/>\nVPNs and other digital businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\nlegislation allows obligations to be placed on designated core providers<br \/>\nthrough regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">It<br \/>\nalso gives the Minister of Public Safety authority to issue secret orders to<br \/>\nindividual service providers, subject to approval by the Intelligence<br \/>\nCommissioner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nit provides for mandatory retention of specified categories of metadata.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nHouse did make important amendments before passing the bill.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nmaximum metadata retention period was reduced from one year to <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">six months<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nprovisions dealing with systemic vulnerabilities were improved, but definitely<br \/>\nnot fixed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">The<br \/>\ngovernment is still creating a permanent statutory framework under which<br \/>\nprivate companies can be required to design their systems so that government<br \/>\naccess can be facilitated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthat raises some enormous questions about privacy, cybersecurity,<br \/>\nproportionality and the future design of communications infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">As I<br \/>\nsaid in my earlier episode, I think Part 1 is largely fixed.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Part<br \/>\n2 is better than what we saw before, but I still think it is deeply<br \/>\nproblematic.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_w1yk3tbrn5gw\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 7: The Senate Could Really Matter<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthat makes the Senate particularly important this fall.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nHouse consideration of C-22 ended very quickly.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On<br \/>\nJune 17th, the government obtained a programming motion that dramatically<br \/>\ncompressed the remaining committee and House proceedings, and the bill was<br \/>\npassed by the Commons on June 18th.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nthe Senate now has an opportunity to give the legislation the detailed scrutiny<br \/>\nthat a bill of this significance deserves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">I<br \/>\nhope Senators take that opportunity.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I<br \/>\nwould expect witnesses from law enforcement and national security agencies.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I<br \/>\nwould expect privacy and civil-liberties advocates.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I<br \/>\nwould expect telecommunications companies and major technology companies.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I<br \/>\nhope there are cybersecurity and encryption experts.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\nI hope Senators spend a lot of time on a fundamental question:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">What<br \/>\ntechnological capabilities should the government be permitted to require<br \/>\nprivate companies to build in advance, so they are available if government<br \/>\nwants to use them later?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">That<br \/>\nis a very different question from whether police should be able to get a<br \/>\nwarrant.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Of<br \/>\ncourse police should be able to get warrants where the legal requirements are<br \/>\nmet.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nmuch harder question is whether we should redesign communications<br \/>\ninfrastructure to make surveillance easier.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Those<br \/>\nare not the same thing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_saaqvslmoh0i\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 8: The Bigger Picture<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthat&#8217;s why I think these three bills need to be looked at together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">With<br \/>\nBill C-34, the government wants online services to know more about their users&#8217;<br \/>\nages and identities so they can control access and manage harmful content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">With<br \/>\nBill C-36, the government is completely rewriting the rules governing how<br \/>\nbusinesses collect and use personal information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nwith Bill C-22, the government wants to ensure that information and technical<br \/>\ncapabilities exist so law enforcement and national security agencies can obtain<br \/>\ndata when legally authorized to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">There<br \/>\nare legitimate public-policy objectives behind all three.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Protecting<br \/>\nchildren online is important.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Most<br \/>\nfolks in the field agree that modernizing our privacy law is overdue.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Giving<br \/>\npolice appropriate tools to investigate serious crime in a digital world is<br \/>\nnecessary. (Emphasis on \u201cappropriate\u201d.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">But<br \/>\ngood objectives do not automatically produce good legislation.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\none of the recurring themes running through all three bills is <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">information<br \/>\narchitecture<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What<br \/>\ndata are companies required to collect?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What<br \/>\ndata are they permitted to use?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What<br \/>\ndata must they retain?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What<br \/>\ntechnological systems must they build?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Who<br \/>\ngets access to that information?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Who<br \/>\nis the \u201ccustomer\u201d? The police?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Who<br \/>\nregulates all of this?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\nwhat checks exist on those regulators and government agencies?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Those<br \/>\nquestions are going to shape the Canadian internet for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_jgobm4v1emg8\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Part 9: What I Will Be Watching<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nhere is my fall 2026 privacy and digital-policy watch list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">For <b>Bill<br \/>\nC-34<\/b>, watch the age-16 restriction, age-verification requirements,<br \/>\nfreedom-of-expression issues, the treatment of AI and the enormous amount of<br \/>\nsubstantive law being left to regulations and Commission rule-making.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">For <b>Bill<br \/>\nC-36<\/b>, watch the fate of the existing Privacy Commissioner, the structure<br \/>\nand independence of the new regulator, consent and legitimate interests,<br \/>\ncross-border transfers, the private right of action and the penalty regime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nfor <b>Bill C-22<\/b>, watch the Senate. Particularly watch what Senators do<br \/>\nwith Part 2, metadata retention, technical capability requirements, ministerial<br \/>\norders, encryption and cybersecurity protections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nthere is one final thing to watch:\u00a0<\/span><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Speed.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">We&#8217;ve<br \/>\nseen governments try to enact major<br \/>\ndigital-policy reforms only to have them die because they were too<br \/>\ncontroversial, too complicated or simply ran out of parliamentary runway.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Privacy<br \/>\nlaw reform Bills C-11 and C-27 never became law.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Online<br \/>\nHarms Bill C-63 never became law.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The<br \/>\nlawful-access proposals in Bill C-2 did not survive in that form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nintroducing legislation is one thing, g<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">etting<br \/>\nit through both Houses of Parliament is entirely different.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Bill<br \/>\nC-22 is already well down that road. C-34 and C-36 are just getting started.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">And<br \/>\nI suspect we&#8217;re going to know a lot more by Christmas about how serious the<br \/>\ngovernment is about getting each of them enacted.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin: 0cm; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"><a name=\"_ajfuzg23swg6\"\/><b><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;\">So<br \/>\nbuckle up. The fall of 2026 will be enormously consequential for Canadian<br \/>\nprivacy and technology law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And<br \/>\nI expect I&#8217;ll have plenty to talk about over the next few months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you care about privacy, the internet, artificial intelligence, social media, free expression, cybersecurity or government surveillance, you probably want to keep an eye on Ottawa this fall. Because Parliament comes back from its summer break on September 21st, and waiting for MPs and Senators are three important pieces of legislation. 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