EFF urges Canadians to tell the Senate to stop Bill C-22
Electronic Frontier FoundationDigital-rights organization
EFF argues that Bill C-22 would let the Minister of Public Safety order companies to create backdoors to their services. It urges Canadians to sign a petition asking the Senate to stop the bill.
“That’s a clear recipe for weakening the encryption we all rely on.”
Original text
Original text
Where this statement fits
Canada's Bill C-22: Dhillon backs lawful access; Simons warns of security risks
Senator Baltej Dhillon defends the lawful-access framework in Part 2 of Bill C-22. Senators Paula Simons and Yuen Pau Woo question its privacy, cybersecurity and oversight safeguards. The House-passed text lets the federal cabinet require designated providers to keep categories of metadata for up to six months. As of October 24, 2026, the bill was before a Senate committee and was not law.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
EFF criticizes Part 2. Its one-year retention description conflicts with the House-passed six-month cap; the quoted objection concerns encryption.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
Part 2 of the House-passed text enacts the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act. Section 5(2) lets the federal cabinet set capability and metadata-retention obligations for core providers, with retention capped at six months. Section 7 lets the Minister of Public Safety order any electronic service provider to meet such obligations for up to two years, once the Intelligence Commissioner approves the order. Sections 5(5), 7(5) and 24(2.1) excuse compliance that would introduce a systemic vulnerability, and section 2(4) limits decryption obligations.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The response addresses the bill at its Senate stage, after the House amendments.
After the quotation
EFF's post says the bill requires metadata retention for up to a year. The bill as passed by the House limits required retention to reasonable periods not exceeding six months.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Bill C-22's Part 2 lawful-access framework. The speaker expressly criticizes its capability, privacy or oversight provisions.
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More from this case
Read the full caseGeist says secret orders could precede public regulations
“secret orders could be imposed on individual providers before public regulations are even established.”Read statement
Woo says the government has not justified the added risks
“I do not believe it has yet done so.”Read statement
Simons warns Bill C-22's compelled capabilities would weaken cybersecurity
“no way to create a secret passage”Read statement
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- EFF urges Canadians to tell the Senate to stop Bill C-22
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The Dispute Index. "EFF urges Canadians to tell the Senate to stop Bill C-22". First published: 2026-10-28. Last updated: 2026-10-28. https://disputeindex.com/events/7005-eff-argues-that-bill-c-22-would-let