OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — After pressure from the world’s largest tech giants, such as Meta and Google, as well as VPN providers, Canada’s Liberal government now says that it will amend a controversial “dystopian” internet censorship law.
On May 27, Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said that concerns from tech companies about encryption and metadata will be addressed.
“The encryption issue is one we will clarify because this bill was never meant to breach encryption,” he said.
Anandasangaree said the government will work to not allow the breaching of encryption and “clarify it in the bill” and added that “we look forward to working with the opposition on appropriate language that we can live with.”
When it comes to metadata, he said the government will provide clear definitions to ensure the rules governing it are similar to U.S. rules.
“We would ensure that the metadata piece is in line with our U.S. counterpart’s language in their bill that essentially speaks to lawful access,” said Anandasangaree.
Despite the promised changes, the bill will still allow police to use tools to investigate people’s online presence, it seems.
Bill C-22, known as “An Act respecting lawful access,” was introduced recently by Anandasangare, purportedly to address privacy concerns relating to another bill, Bill C-2, that would have permitted police and government officials to open and examine Canadians’ personal mail and would also ban cash donations over $10,000.
The bill mandates that telecom and internet companies make it so that their systems allow for surveillance and monitoring capabilities, which could be shared with police and intelligence.
Recently, a petition with the signatures of over 42,000 Canadians demanding a stop to Bill C-22 before the House was delivered to federal authorities.
Tech giants Apple and Meta and top VPN providers have warned about Bill C-22, noting it could affect cybersecurity in North America.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has issued many warnings about Bill C-22. It said that the bill, as written, clearly “violates” the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bill C-22 has caught the attention of some U.S. politicians. Recently, the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees, Republicans Jim Jordan and Brian Mast, sent a letter to Anandasangaree warning about the bill.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s legacy of censorship bills has continued with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Bill C-9, the “Combating Hate Act,” was passed by the House of Commons and now awaits Senate approval. The bill opens the door to criminalization of religious expression and belief when quoting the Bible.
Carney has globalist ties and was called the World Economic Forum’s “golden boy” by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Carney has also admitted that he is an “elitist” and a “globalist.”