Bill C-22 (Lawful Access Act) passes House of Commons, now before Senate

What happened

Canada's Bill C-22, known as the Lawful Access Act, has cleared the House of Commons and is pending in the Senate. The bill would give the Minister of Public Safety authority to compel digital services to create backdoors and to retain metadata for up to a year. Critics say the measures threaten privacy, encryption security, and could expand cross‑border data sharing with the United States.

Why it matters for trust and compliance

• Its status is passed one chamber. It is not law yet. Track it, but do not treat it as an obligation.
• The bill expands government surveillance powers, affecting privacy and security of millions of Canadians.

Who is affected

Recommended actions

1. Check that privacy notices describe the practices this addresses.
2. Revisit retention schedules and data minimisation for the data involved.
3. Review the transfer mechanisms relied on for affected data flows.
4. Map the security requirements to existing controls and close gaps.