Bill C-26

An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts

Part 1 amends the Telecommunications Act to add the promotion of the security of the Canadian telecommunications system as an objective of the Canadian telecommunications policy and to authorize the Governor in Council and the Minister of Industry to direct telecommunications service providers to do anything, or refrain from doing anything, that is necessary to secure the Canadian telecommunications system. It also establishes an administrative monetary penalty scheme to promote compliance with orders and regulations made by the Governor in Council and the Minister of Industry to secure the Canadian telecommunications system as well as rules for judicial review of those orders and regulations.
This Part also makes a consequential amendment to the Canada Evidence Act .
Part 2 enacts the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act to provide a framework for the protection of the critical cyber systems of services and systems that are vital to national security or public safety and that are delivered or operated as part of a work, undertaking or business that is within the legislative authority of Parliament. It also, among other things,
(a) authorizes the Governor in Council to designate any service or system as a vital service or vital system;
(b) authorizes the Governor in Council to establish classes of operators in respect of a vital service or vital system;
(c) requires designated operators to, among other things, establish and implement cyber security programs, mitigate supply-chain and third-party risks, report cyber security incidents and comply with cyber security directions;
(d) provides for the exchange of information between relevant parties; and
(e) authorizes the enforcement of the obligations under the Act and imposes consequences for non-compliance.
This Part also makes consequential amendments to certain Acts.

Telecommunications Act

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I think that type of coincidence is always a concern. We have mechanisms in place to launch investigations when warranted. I would encourage my colleague to submit his evidence to the authorities who could look into this, because that is the most appropriate way to ensure that the wrongdoing that the member mentioned in his comments has not taken place.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke during his intervention about the need for greater government accountability in the bill, and I am wondering if he could provide the House with an example.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, at the very least there has to be some kind of accounting for and public disclosure of the number of orders the government is making under these new powers. That is just one example, a very minimum reporting threshold.

The idea that any number of these orders could be made and Canadians would not even know they have been made or how many have been made is not acceptable. There has to be some reporting of the extent to which these powers are used, or there will be no factual basis upon which to evaluate whether the powers have been appropriate or adequate, or whether they need to change in the future.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am please to speak today to Bill C-26, an act respecting cybersecurity, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other acts.

It is really important to acknowledge that we are severely behind with regard to our protections in this matter. I am going to quote from myself, from when I once engaged the government and asked them this. “I am very concerned that we are not doing enough in Canada to protect the digital privacy of Canadians and am calling on the government to develop stronger frameworks and guidelines to improve cyber security in Canada. These are critical issues that must be addressed”. They must be addressed for the benefit of Canada, as our economy and commerce are currently under threat, as is our personal privacy.

When did I do that? That was in 2016. From 2016 to today, with the digital changes we have had, is a lifetime of change.

I got a response from the government at that time, basically saying it would refer matters and let them play themselves out in court.

One of the most famous cases that came forward at the time involved the University of Calgary, which had reportedly paid $20,000 in compensation to a group of organizations we do not know to protect the breach they had.

What has taken place over several different cases and also in our current laws has shown that it is okay to pay out crime and it is okay to pay out these types of requests for extortion and not even refer that matter back to the people whose privacy has been breached. We do not even have to report it as a crime to law enforcement agencies. It is very disturbing, to say the least. Getting this legislation is something, but it is still a long way off.

As New Democrats, we recognize very much that there needs to be balance in this. This is why I also wrote at that time to the then privacy commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, about the cyber-attacks and data breaches.

There is concern about the amount of data and one's rights and one's protections and the knowledge one should have as an individual in a democracy. I do not think it is a conspiracy theory to have those kinds of concerns.

I would point to a simple famous case. As New Democrats are well aware, and I think other Canadians are as well, our number one Canadian champion of health care, Tommy Douglas, was spied upon by his own RCMP at that same time. That was in relation to bringing in Medicare. This is very well documented. We still do not have all the records. We still do not have all the information, and it is a very famous case.

Bringing in our number one treasured jewel, health care, led to a case where our own system was spying on an elected representative who was actually declared Canada's greatest Canadian by the public. We do not want to forget about those things because, when we are introducing laws like this, there is a real concern about one's ability to protect oneself and one's privacy, as well as the expansive conditions that are going to change, often with regard to personal privacy.

What also took place after that was that I was very pleased, in 2020, to put a motion forward at the House of Commons industry committee, where we studied, for the first time in Canadian history, fraud calls in Canada.

There are a lot of cyber-attacks through this type of operating system, and we need to remind ourselves that using this type of system, being our Internet service providers and the telecoms sector, is something that is done by giving up the public infrastructure and a regulated system of industry.

We have built a beast, in many ways, that has a low degree of accountability, and we are finally getting some of that restored. There are also some new programs coming in, like STIR/SHAKEN and other types of reporting that is required.

I want to point out that since we have done that, we have another report that will be tabled, or at least a letter. We have not decided yet, and there is still work going on, but we have had a couple more meetings in the industry committee about it and we have really heard lots of testimony that showed that there is more work that can and should be done.

A good example from the previous report that we did was recommendation number five, which went through sharing information between the RCMP and the CRTC. We have not seen the government act on it.

It is important to note that with this bill there has been a lot of talk about the types of things we can do internationally, as well. One of the things I would point out that I have been very vocal on, because I have had Ukrainian interns in my office for a number of years, is that we could use a lot of our leverage in terms of cybersecurity and training to help them to deal with the Russian hacking and other nefarious international players. That would not only help Ukraine right now in the war with Russia. It would also help with the other activity that comes out of this subsequently, which would help the world economies by having trained, solid professionals who are able to use their expertise and battle this with regard to the current state of affairs and also the future. This would be helpful, not only for the Ukrainian population but also for the European Union, Canada, North America and others, who will continue to battle more complex artificial intelligence and other cyber-attacks that take place.

One of the things I want to note is that in the bill, a proposed new section 15.2 of the act would give the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Public Safety the authority to make several types of orders. It relates to guiding TSPs to stop providing services if necessary. This is a strong power that we are pleased to see in this type of legislation.

What we are really concerned about, as the member for Elmwood—Transcona noted, is that there is no general oversight of the type that we would normally see on other types of legislation. Scrutiny of regulations was the one referred to. For those who are not familiar with the back halls and dark corners of Parliament, there is a committee that I was one of the vice-chairs of at one point in time. The scrutiny of regulations committee oversees all legislation passed in the House of Commons and ensures that the bureaucratic and governmental arms, including that of ministers, whatever political colour they will be of at that time, follow through with the laws of the legislation that is passed. Making this bill not have to go through that type of a process is wrong. I would actually say it is reckless, because the committee has to do a lot of work just to get regulatory things followed on a regular basis. It can be quite a long period, but there is that check and balance that takes place, and it is a joint Senate and House of Commons committee. It is unfortunate that the legislation tries to leave that out.

The legislation also does not have the requirement to gazette information in terms of making it public for the different types of institutions. That is an issue, and it also has a lot of holes when it comes to information that can be withheld and shared.

Why is that important with regard to confidence in the bill? It all comes down to the fact that many of the institutions at risk of being targeted involve not only the private sector, where we have seen not only abuse of customers themselves, or businesses with lax policies that do not protect privacy very well, but also others that have used abusive techniques and processes. Even right now, it is amazing when we think about the information in the process that is going on in the United States. The U.S. Senate is going to oversee the issue with regard to Taylor Swift tickets and Ticketmaster again. That is another one that has had a nefarious past with regard to privacy, information and how it runs its business. People can go back to look at that one, with Live Nation and so forth. At any rate, the U.S. is also involved in this.

I raised those things because it also comes from the soft things like that, which are very serious with respect to credit cards and to people's personal information that is shared. However, across the world and in Canada we also have municipal infrastructure and government institutions that are constantly under attack. That is very important, because it is not just the external elements with regard to consumer protection and business losses, which are quite significant and into the billions of dollars. It is also everything from water treatment facilities to health care facilities in terms of hospitals and utilities for power and hydro. All those elements can be used as targets to undermine a civilian population as well, and one of the things we would like to see is more accountability when it comes to those elements. There is definitely more to do.

One of the things I do not quite understand, and which I am pleased to see the government at least bring to committee, is what we could do to educate the population.

Our first intervention on this bill as New Democrats was several years ago, and it is sad that it is just coming to fruition now.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am a little concerned with some of the elements in Bill C-26 that seem overly broad. They give the government powers to secretly order providers to do things or refrain from doing things, without any transparency. Does the member share my concern?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do. For us to get fully engaged in this, we want full accountability, clarity and a playbook so everybody understands the rules. We want to deal with some of the stuff and provide some leverage for law enforcement and investigations to take place, but there has to be a set of rules and that needs to be backstopped by parliamentary oversight. Where it stands right now, it is not backstopped by parliamentary oversight.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I would like to follow up on that question. When the minister is called upon to instruct a provider to take a specific action, that would often be required because something has happened in the environment. If the minister does not have that authority, then the opposition might be somewhat critical of the minister not taking action.

I wonder if the member feels that it is necessary in the legislation, or does he believe we should have it, but we need to amend it in some fashion to ensure it is not abused. Is that what I am hearing from the member?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, absolutely, but if we are going to give some flexibility in power for the minister to act, it has to be responsibly met with oversight, and that has to be heavy oversight. That will provide the confidence.

That is why I wrote to the Privacy Commissioner right after I challenged the government back in 2016 to act on this. We have seen how long it has taken for it to act on this now, so we need to have that confidence. It is a two-way street. If we have the confidence of privacy and protection for people, with oversight, then I think people will be more willing to accept that there could be some changes with respect to how investigations take place.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, a group of organizations, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, OpenMedia and Leadnow, have written an open letter calling for improvements to Bill C-26. One of the items they call out is that secrecy undermines accountability and due process.

The member for Windsor West spoke a bit about this in his speech. Could he share more about the suggested improvements that would ensure better public reporting as part of Bill C-26?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a book that we use for privacy protection and it is available to everybody. It was written by Kevin Cosgrove. It is a playbook for people on how to protect themselves and their families from a whole bunch of different issues, whether it be WiFi, online banking, shopping, social media, a whole series of things. The reason I use that as a specific example is that a ton of education has to be done. That has to be done for this bill as well. There needs to be a defined playbook of accountability, like going to the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations and ensuring there is oversight for the minister. All those things have to be really enhanced to build the confidence so we all buy into this.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Windsor West for all his hard work on this. Definitely, when it comes to protecting Canadians, he is the right person to do it.

I wonder if he would expand on clause 15.2 with respect to no general oversight and what the risk is to Canadians if that is not in place.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, It has been fun to work with my colleague on some of these issues. We need a lot of public education related to this going forward.

That section again is just too weak. It provides too many holes. There should be a way to get back to a process of ensuring the minister is held to account. That is one of the things where we are looking to expand powers, but, again, we really need a lot more public education with respect to cybersecurity.

I know it is one of those issues that when we hear it, our eyes fog up, or they roll back in our heads and we think it is just too complicated for us, that there is always something happening, but we really need to engage Canadians on this. That includes engaging the government to ensure it understands that it has to teach residents about the bill and its repercussions as it goes forward.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.

It is a true privilege for me to add my voice to the debate on Bill C-26, an act respecting cybersecurity, on behalf of the residents of my riding of Davenport, many of whom have written to me through the years about their concern around cybersecurity and the need for additional protections at all levels of government.

This bill represents the latest step in the government's constant work to ensure our systems, rules and regulations are strong and as up-to-date as possible. That is especially important when dealing with a topic as fluid and rapidly evolving as cyber-technology. We have known for quite some time we would need to be constantly vigilant on this issue.

In 2013, the government established the security review program operated by the Communications Security Establishment. In 2016, we conducted public consultations on cybersecurity. In 2018, we released the national cybersecurity strategy. In 2019, we allocated $144.9 million through budget 2019 to develop a critical cyber systems framework. In 2021, we completed an interdepartmental 5G security examination, which recommended an updated security framework to safeguard Canada's telecommunications system.

A cornerstone of the updated framework is an evolution of the security review program. It would allow for continued engagement with Canadian telecommunications service providers and equipment suppliers to ensure the security of Canadian telecommunications networks, including 5G. As a result of this multi-year work, to address these identified concerns and improve Canada's cybersecurity posture, including in 5G technology, we introduced Bill C-26.

The bill is intended to promote cybersecurity across four federally regulated critical infrastructure sectors: finance, telecommunications, energy and transportation.

Bill C-26 consists of two very distinct parts. Part 1 introduces amendments to the Telecommunications Act that would add security as a policy objective and create a framework that would allow the federal government to take measures to secure the telecommunications system. Part 2 introduces the critical cyber systems protection act, which would create a regulatory regime requiring designated operators in the finance, telecommunications, energy and transportation sectors to protect their critical cyber systems.

As I mentioned, 5G has the potential to be a transformative technology for Canadians. It promises to bring lightning-fast Internet speeds that are unlike anything we have experienced so far. The benefits of instant and real-time connectivity will be immediate and far-reaching for Canadians and Canadian businesses.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has underlined the importance of this connectivity, whether it is for virtual classrooms, work from home or keeping in touch with loved ones, but we need to be absolutely sure this technology is safe and secure as the technology is rolled out in Canada.

Canada already has a system in place to mitigate cybersecurity risks in our existing 3G and 4G LTE wireless telecommunications network. Since 2013, the Communications Security Establishment's security review program has helped mitigate risks stemming from designated equipment and services under consideration for use in Canadian 3G, 4G LTE telecommunications networks from cyber-threats.

Like previous generations, 5G technology will have new risks and vulnerabilities that will need to be addressed so Canadians can realize its full potential. 5G is considered more sensitive than 4G because it will be deeply integrated into Canada's critical infrastructure and economy, and will connect many more devices through a complex architecture. The deep integration, greater interconnection and complexity increase both the likelihood and potential impact of threats. That is why an examination of emerging 5G technology and the associated security and economic considerations continues to be very important.

The technical agencies of the Government of Canada, within the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the safety and security agencies that fall within the Public Safety portfolio, Global Affairs Canada, National Defence and others, are all involved in the federal government's efforts to develop a made-in-Canada approach to ensuring the secure rollout of 5G wireless technology. Moving this bill forward will further that vital work.

In the meantime, our world-class national security and intelligence agencies continue to protect our country from a wide range of threats. As we know, those threats include a growing number of targeted attacks from state and non-state actors, including cybercriminals.

Canada's two main national security organizations, CSIS and CSE, which is short for Communications Security Establishment, are working tirelessly to mitigate these threats.

CSIS provides analysis to assist the federal government in understanding cyber-threats and the intentions and capabilities of cyber actors operating in Canada and abroad who pose a threat to our security. This intelligence helps the government to improve its overall situational awareness, better identify cyber vulnerabilities, prevent cyber espionage or other cyber-threat activity and take action to secure critical infrastructure.

For its part, the CSE is always monitoring for threats that may be directed against Canada and Canadians. The CSE is home to the Canadian centre for cybersecurity, which was established as a flagship initiative of the 2018 national cybersecurity strategy. With the cyber centre, Canadians have a clear and trusted place to turn to for cybersecurity issues. It is Canada's authority on technical and operational cybersecurity issues, a single, unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support for the federal government, critical infrastructure for owners and operations, the private sector and the Canadian public. It helps to protect and defend Canada's valuable cyber assets and works side by side with the private and public sectors to solve Canada's most complex cyber issues.

For example, the cyber centre has partnered with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on the CIRA Canadian Shield. The shield is a free protected DNS service that prevents users from connecting to malicious websites that might infect their devices or steal personal information. With the passage of the National Security Act in 2019, Canada's national security and intelligence laws have been modernized and enhanced.

As a result, CSIS and the Communications Security Establishment now have authorities they need to address emerging national security threats, while ensuring that the charter rights of Canadians are protected.

These updates are in line with CSIS's mandate of collecting and analyzing threat-related information concerning the security of Canada in areas including terrorism, espionage, weapons of mass destruction, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection.

The passage of the National Security Act also established stand-alone legislation for the CSE for the first time ever. With the Communications Security Establishment Act, the CSE retained its previous authorities and received permission to perform additional activities.

For example, the CSE is now permitted to use more advanced methods and techniques to gather intelligence from foreign targets. Under the CSE Act, CSE is mandated to degrade, disrupt, influence, respond to and interfere with the capabilities of those who aspire to exploit our systems and to take action online to defend Canadian networks and proactively stop cyber-threats before they reach our systems. It is also permitted to assist DND and the Canadian Armed Forces with cyber operations.

As Canada's national police force, the RCMP also plays a very important cybersecurity role. It leads the investigative response to suspected criminal cyber incidents, including those related to national security.

Cybercrime investigations are complex and technical in nature. They require specialized investigative skills and a coordinated effort. That is why, as part of Canada's 2018 national cybersecurity strategy and as a second flagship initiative, the RCMP has established the national cybercrime coordination centre, or NC3.

The NC3 has been up and running for over a year now. It serves all Canadian law enforcement agencies, and its staff includes RCMP officers and civilians from many backgrounds. Working with law enforcement agencies, government and private sector partners, the NC3 performs a number of roles, including coordinating cybercrime investigations in Canada.

All of this is backed up by significant new investments in the two most recent budgets. In budget 2019, we provided $144.9 million to support the protection of critical cyber systems and we later invested almost $400 million in creating the Canadian centre for cybersecurity, the national cybercrime coordination unit and increased RCMP enforcement capacity.

Whether it is nationally or internationally, I have full confidence in the abilities of all those in our national security and intelligence agencies who are working hard day and night to safeguard our cybersecurity and protect us from harm online. I am confident that Bill C-26 will go a long way to continue doing that.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the government member across the way.

In the debate today, a number of concerns have been brought forward around some of the ministerial powers included in Bill C-26, as well as the lack of accountability mechanisms. I think we have heard from all parties about the desire to bring forward amendments and improvements at the committee stage.

Does the member opposite have a willingness to work with members of the House to ensure that we improve this bill and make sure it achieves the results it intends to?

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Madam Speaker, I think our Minister of Public Safety was very clear this morning. Without question, every time the government takes additional, decisive action and puts additional measures in place, there has to be corresponding transparency and accountability. We absolutely need to make sure there is enough of that in Bill C-26 so we have the confidence not only of the House but of Canadians with regard to having the proper accountability and transparency in place.