https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/45-1/bill/C-2/first-reading
Bill C-2 grants expanded surveillance powers to police and intelligence agencies, allowing them to demand information from any individual—including ordinary citizens—without prior judicial authorization. This lowers the legal threshold for accessing private communications, digital data, banking records, or metadata, even in the absence of specific criminal suspicion.
The bill would empower authorities to compel any citizen—for example, a neighbor, employer, or service provider—to hand over information about a third party, under penalty of fines or prosecution. This creates a duty of forced collaboration with the state, contrary to the right to silence and freedom of association.
The text includes enhanced powers to seize cash and property without prior criminal conviction. These measures could apply to citizens during border checks, searches, or interactions with law enforcement, even in the absence of evidence linking them to criminal activity.
The bill facilitates access to location data, browsing history, emails, messages, and other digital content without a judicial warrant in certain cases. This constitutes a direct intrusion into citizens’ private sphere, including individuals not suspected of any offense.
The bill creates exceptions to compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms under the guise of “border security.” This opens the door to disproportionate measures that could affect any Canadian, notably by limiting the rights to privacy, liberty, and security of the person.
The new powers granted to security agencies are not accompanied by robust accountability mechanisms. Citizens would often have no way of knowing they were surveilled or that their data was collected, nor any means to challenge these measures in court.