Ottawa’s building a backdoor to slide into our personal online data...

Bill C-22 will require tech companies to collect and store our data.

There is no doubt that Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, will be an invasion of privacy. The question is whether this is justified and necesary to deal with an every changing world, new technology and new techniques by criminals and terrorists who adopt and adapt to all of this quicker than law enforcement and legislation.

I have my doubts and some real reservations.

That said, while I’ve listened to the concerns of telecom companies, of the social media companies, of civil libertarians, I’ve also been trying to understand law enforcement. I’ve had cops bend my ear and tell me that all of Bill C-22 is needed, not just Part 1, the part the social media companies are okay with.

On this week’s Full Comment Podcast, we bring you both sides.

Richard Fadden is someone who knows a great deal about law enforcement, national security and terrorism. He was the National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and among other roles has served as the Director of CSIS and Deputy Minister of Defence in Ottawa.

When Fadden speaks, people listen for a reason.

On the other side is Natalie Campbell, she serves as the Sr Director of North American Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Internet Society. Her main concern is what C-22 will mean for encryption technology that we all rely on on an increasingly online world.

There are reasons to update the law from where it is now, there are reasons to be concerned about how far C-22 goes.

On Full Comment, we bring you both sides.

Enjoy.

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From the official show notes:

Tech firms and civil libertarians are sounding the alarm about “lawful access” legislation the Liberals seem hellbent on passing before summer. They warn that the backdoor it would create to access people’s encrypted internet communications puts us all at risk and makes it impossible for secure platforms to operate in Canada. Security officials say it’s necessary to keep up with the online criminals they lack modern tools to catch. Former national security adviser to the prime minister, Richard Fadden, tells Brian why Bill C-22 strikes a reasonable balance and the fears of serious privacy violations are unwarranted. Natalie Campbell, senior director at the Internet Society, explains why the dangers are real, and even graver than most people realize. (Recorded June 11 and 12, 2026)