Bill C-2

Strong Borders Act

An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures

Part 1 amends the Customs Act to provide the Canada Border Services Agency with facilities free of charge for carrying out any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of that Act and other Acts of Parliament and to provide officers of that Agency with access at certain locations to goods destined for export. It also includes transitional provisions.
Part 2 amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create a new temporary accelerated scheduling pathway that allows the Minister of Health to add precursor chemicals to Schedule V to that Act. It also makes related amendments to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Police Enforcement) Regulations and the Precursor Control Regulations .
Part 3 amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Cannabis Act to confirm that the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, make regulations exempting members of law enforcement from the application of any provision of the Criminal Code that creates drug-related inchoate offences when they are undertaking lawful investigations.
Part 4 amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to permit the demand, seizure, detention or retention of anything in the course of post only in accordance with an Act of Parliament. It also amends that Act to expand the Canada Post Corporation’s authority to open mail in certain circumstances to include the authority to open letters.
Part 5 amends the Oceans Act to provide that coast guard services include activities related to security and to authorize the responsible minister to collect, analyze and disclose information and intelligence.
Part 6 amends the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act to authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to disclose, for certain purposes and subject to any regulations, personal information under the control of the Department within the Department and to certain other federal and provincial government entities.
It also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to authorize the making of regulations relating to the disclosure of information collected for the purposes of that Act to federal departments and agencies.
Part 7 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things,
(a) eliminate the designated countries of origin regime;
(b) authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to specify the information and documents that are required in support of a claim for refugee protection;
(c) authorize the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board to determine that claims for refugee protection that have not yet been referred to the Refugee Protection Division have been abandoned in certain circumstances;
(d) provide the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration with the power to determine that claims for refugee protection that have not yet been referred to the Refugee Protection Division have been withdrawn in certain circumstances;
(e) require the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division to suspend certain proceedings respecting a claim for refugee protection if the claimant is not present in Canada;
(f) clarify that decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board must be rendered, and reasons for those decisions must be given, in the manner specified by its Chairperson; and
(g) authorize regulations to be made setting out the circumstances in which the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness must designate, in relation to certain proceedings or applications, a representative for persons who are under 18 years of age or who are unable to appreciate the nature of the proceeding or application.
It also includes transitional provisions.
Part 8 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things,
(a) authorize the Governor in Council to make an order specifying that certain applications made under that Act are not to be accepted for processing, or that the processing of those applications is to be suspended or terminated, when the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to make an order to cancel, suspend or vary certain documents issued under that Act, or to impose or vary conditions, when the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so;
(c) for the application of an order referred to in paragraph (b), require a person to appear for an examination, answer questions truthfully and produce all relevant documents or evidence that an officer requires; and
(d) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations prescribing circumstances in which a document issued under that Act can be cancelled, suspended or varied, and in which officers may terminate the processing of certain applications made under that Act.
Part 9 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to add two new grounds of ineligibility for claims for refugee protection as well as powers to make regulations respecting exceptions to those new grounds. It also includes a transitional provision respecting the retroactive application of those new grounds.
Part 10 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things,
(a) increase the maximum administrative monetary penalties that may be imposed for certain violations and the maximum punishments that may be imposed for certain criminal offences under that Act;
(b) replace the existing optional compliance agreement regime with a new mandatory compliance agreement regime that, among other things,
(i) requires every person or entity that receives an administrative monetary penalty for a prescribed violation to enter into a compliance agreement with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (the Centre),
(ii) requires the Director of the Centre to make a compliance order if the person or entity refuses to enter into a compliance agreement or fails to comply with such an agreement, and
(iii) designates the contravention of a compliance order as a new violation under that Act;
(c) require persons or entities referred to in section 5 of that Act, other than those already required to register, to enroll with the Centre; and
(d) authorize the Centre to disclose certain information to the Commissioner of Canada Elections, subject to certain conditions.
It also makes consequential and related amendments to other Acts and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations and includes transitional provisions.
Part 11 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to prohibit certain entities from accepting cash deposits from third parties and certain persons or entities from accepting cash payments, donations or deposits of $10,000 or more. It also makes a related amendment to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations .
Part 12 amends the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to make the Director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada a member of the committee established under subsection 18(1) of that Act. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to enable the Director to exchange information with the other members of that committee.
Part 13 amends the Sex Offender Information Registration Act to, among other things,
(a) make certain changes to a sex offender’s reporting obligations, including the circumstances in which they are required to report, the information that must be provided and the time within which it is to be provided;
(b) provide that any of a sex offender’s physical characteristics that may assist in their identification may be recorded when they report to a registration centre;
(c) clarify what may constitute a reasonable excuse for a sex offender’s non-compliance with the requirement to give at least 14 days’ notice prior to a departure from their residence for seven or more consecutive days;
(d) authorize the Canada Border Services Agency to disclose certain information relating to a sex offender’s arrival in and departure from Canada to law enforcement agencies for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of that Act;
(e) authorize, in certain circumstances, the disclosure of information collected under that Act if there are reasonable grounds to believe that it will assist in the prevention or investigation of a crime of a sexual nature; and
(f) clarify that a person who discloses information under section 16 of that Act with the belief that they are acting in accordance with that section is not guilty of an offence under section 17 of that Act.
It also makes a related amendment to the Customs Act .
Part 14 amends various Acts to modernize certain provisions respecting the timely gathering and production of data and information during an investigation. It, among other things,
(a) amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(i) facilitate access to basic information that will assist in the investigation of federal offences through an information demand or a judicial production order to persons who provide services to the public,
(ii) clarify the response time for production orders and the ability of peace officers and public officers to receive and act on certain information that is voluntarily provided to them and on certain information that is publicly available,
(iii) specify certain circumstances in which peace officers and public officers may obtain evidence, including subscriber information, in exigent circumstances,
(iv) allow a justice or judge to authorize, in a warrant, a peace officer or public officer to obtain tracking data or transmission data that relates to any thing that is similar to a thing in relation to which data is authorized to be obtained under the warrant and that is unknown at the time the warrant is issued,
(v) provide and clarify authorities by which computer data may be examined, and
(vi) allow a justice or judge to authorize a peace officer or public officer to make a request to a foreign entity that provides telecommunications services to the public to produce transmission data or subscriber information that is in its possession or control;
(b) makes a consequential amendment to the Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act ;
(c) amends the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act to allow the Minister of Justice to authorize a competent authority to make arrangements for the enforcement of a decision made by an authority of a state or entity that is empowered to compel the production of transmission data or subscriber information that is in the possession or control of a person in Canada;
(d) amends the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act to, among other things,
(i) facilitate access to basic information that will assist the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in the performance of its duties and functions under section 12 or 16 of that Act through information demands given to persons or entities that provide services to the public and judicial information orders against such persons and entities, and
(ii) clarify the response time for production orders; and
(e) amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Cannabis Act to provide and clarify authorities by which computer data may be examined.
Part 15 enacts the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act . That Act establishes a framework for ensuring that electronic service providers can facilitate the exercise, by authorized persons, of authorities to access information conferred under the Criminal Code or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act .
Part 16 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to permit a person or entity referred to in section 5 of that Act to collect and use an individual’s personal information without that individual’s knowledge or consent if
(a) the information is disclosed to the person or entity by a government department, institution or agency or law enforcement agency; and
(b) the collection and use are for the purposes of detecting or deterring money laundering, terrorist activity financing or sanctions evasion or for a consistent purpose.
It also makes related amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act .

Strong Borders Act

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime.

During the election campaign, Canadians across the country asked us to take concrete measures to build a safer Canada. We have heard them, and we take the issues of protecting our borders and cracking down on crime very seriously. That is why, at the beginning of this new Parliament, we introduced Bill C‑2, the strong borders act.

I would like to congratulate my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, who sponsored this bill, as well as all my other ministerial colleagues who contributed to it, for the quality of their work on this important issue for Canadians. Over the next few minutes, I will explain why I support this essential bill, which will enable us to advance our government's priorities of keeping Canadians safe by strengthening Canada's border, fighting transnational organized crime and improving the integrity of Canada's immigration system.

The first objective of this bill is to make our border more secure. This is an especially important issue for me as the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, a riding with five border crossings. I want to point out that Canada's borders are already strong and secure and that CBSA staff do remarkable work. I want to commend them for the work they do every day to protect our borders. During the election campaign, I had the opportunity to meet many of these border services officers at various community activities in my riding and discuss their important work with them. Through Bill C‑2, we will make our borders even stronger. We will do that by making it easier for border officers to examine goods destined for export that are crossing the border and to intercept more drugs, guns and stolen vehicles as they leave Canada. For example, border officers will have more power to inspect containers destined for export and prevent car theft rings from smuggling stolen vehicles out of the country. During the election campaign, I heard many stories about stolen vehicles, like that of a young entrepreneurial couple from my riding, who work hard to earn a living and who, upon returning from vacation, found that their truck had disappeared from their hotel's long-term parking lot. We need to increase the responsible authorities' capacity to fight this type of crime. It is also important to understand that the strong borders act complements our other measures to strengthen our borders. Once passed, this legislation will strengthen Canada's border plan, which involves funding of $1.3 billion, the largest investment in border security in Canadian history. When we talk about strengthening our country's security, it is not just talk. We are taking real action.

We are also taking important steps to preserve the integrity of our immigration system while honouring our humanitarian commitments. Canadians expect us to maintain a strong, effective immigration system well suited to present conditions. That is why we made changes to create two ineligibility measures in the asylum system. The goal is to reduce pressure on the system and deter those who may seek to abuse it. Let me reiterate, however, that we will do this while upholding our humanitarian traditions and ensuring that refugees who genuinely need protection can get it.

The second objective of Bill C‑2 is to combat transnational organized crime and fentanyl. We understand that a strong Canada requires strong crime prevention measures. That is why we are taking steps to prevent crime, give police the tools they need to fight it, and hold criminals accountable for their actions. Opioids are wreaking havoc across the country. Thousands of lives are being lost; not a day goes by without hearing heartbreaking stories of lives cut short. We cannot remain indifferent to this situation, and we must act. That is why we will continue our efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl. In particular, we will further empower law enforcement agencies in the fight against the production and trafficking of illicit drugs. We will allow law enforcement agencies to search goods crossing the border. We will facilitate the listing of precursor chemicals in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to prevent their importation and illegal use. We will also allow the police to search for, intercept and seize drugs and other prohibited items that are being shipped through the postal system. To that end, we will amend the Canada Post Corporation Act.

This bill will also strengthen our ability to prosecute transnational child sex offenders. To do this, we are amending the Sex Offender Information Registration Act to improve the RCMP's ability to share information with its national and international partners.

The third pillar of our bill is to stop illicit financing by strengthening our ability to fight money laundering and stop the flow of financial proceeds from organized crime to deprive it of its illegal profits.

Our government was elected on a platform of protecting and defending Canadians from foreign threats, which includes protecting our financial system. We will therefore impose tougher penalties for financial crimes. We will also facilitate the exchange of information between Canada's largest banks and law enforcement agencies responsible for combatting money laundering, so that banks can receive and use the information sent to them by the RCMP.

As such, Bill C-2 is an important step forward in implementing our plan to build a safer Canada. This bill strengthens law enforcement's ability to detect and investigate serious crimes, while respecting the rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rule of law. It is important to stress that the amendments we are proposing have been carefully crafted to balance privacy interests with the tools law enforcement needs to fulfill their mandate.

By implementing these rigorous measures, the Government of Canada will strengthen security at our borders while increasing safety in our communities. These measures will also show our international partners that Canada takes seriously our shared responsibility to combat fentanyl, car theft, human trafficking and transnational organized crime.

In conclusion, protecting our borders and fighting crime and illicit financing are issues that transcend party lines. Canadians have high expectations of us. They expect us to work together with the seriousness that the issues we are addressing demand.

Like all my colleagues on the government side, I will support this important bill. I hope that all other members of the House will work with us constructively to pass this bill, which is essential to making Canada stronger, safer and more secure.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I do not think I have had a chance to congratulate you on your appointment as Deputy Speaker. As my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean said earlier, I am happy to see you again. You are my favourite too, so it is good to see you again.

I was also pleased to hear our new colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche say that he will support Bill C‑2. I am glad to hear that. However, I would add that, since this is a government bill, I would imagine that he does not really have a choice in the matter.

That said, I appreciated his passion, and I congratulate him on his speech, but there is something in the bill that concerns me.

I am talking about respect for privacy and people's information. The bill proposes allowing Canada Post, among other entities, to inspect mail and packages sent to citizens. I understand the objective and I agree with it.

However, how does my colleague intend to respond to the concerns of citizens who will be surprised by the fact that the government wants to open their mail and monitor their parcels? I get the feeling that there will be an outcry at some point.

I would like to know whether the Liberals are anticipating such an outcry. How are they going to respond to it, and how are they going to reassure people in that regard?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to support this bill. It will implement strict measures to strengthen security at our borders while making our communities safer.

To be clear, these amendments have been carefully crafted to strike a balance between privacy concerns and the tools that law enforcement needs to carry out its mandate.

The bill strengthens law enforcement's ability to detect and investigate serious crimes, while upholding the rule of law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We can strengthen our border security and fight crime while respecting the fundamental rights of our citizens.

As a government, we are committed to building a safer and more secure Canada. That is what we are doing.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, one of the things I am concerned about is this. It is great to know that we are hiring more law enforcement officials, but has the government read the Mass Casualty Commission report on the Portapique shootings and the quite substantial recommendations that RCMP officers need more extensive and better training that lasts years?

Are we going to see the implementation of the Mass Casualty Commission report recommendations before hiring more RCMP officers, who will, according to the Mass Casualty Commission, lack the training to save lives?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question.

In the recent election campaign, Canadians asked us to bring in measures to strengthen security in Canada and fight crime. That is what we are doing. To demonstrate how seriously we are taking this matter, in the first weeks of this Parliament, we introduced Bill C-2, which includes several strong measures to strengthen our border and fight crime here at home. This is a first step.

Our election platform and the Speech from the Throne both include a number of other measures to fight crime and keep Canadians safe.

This is a first step, and I would say that it is a big step forward in our plan to make Canada an even safer and more secure country.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am very happy that someone brought up the issue of the casualty report. One of the items, specifically, was a lack of heavy body armour. We had an Order Paper question come back just recently, about a year ago, which was 10 years after the mass casualty issue, where the government has still not provided heavy body armour to the RCMP.

The government is repeatedly saying that it is going to add 1,000 RCMP officers, but there is no commitment to provide the heavy body armour, even for the existing ones. The government has not provided the heavy body armour to existing, much less additional, ones. In fact, it does not even know how much heavy body armour is available, because it has to put out an RFP, apparently, to hire a consultant to count how many items it has for the heavy body armour.

I wonder if my colleague across the way would commit, to the House, to talk to the minister to ensure that the RCMP officers are provided with the heavy body armour they require.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Madam Speaker, as I said, Bill C‑2 is an ambitious bill containing several crime-fighting measures. We want to give our law enforcement agencies more flexible tools so they can take effective action to combat crime in our communities and make Canada safer and more secure.

That means we will introduce more concrete measures. For example, the Liberal platform includes more resources for the RCMP. It is a commitment to make Canada stronger and safer.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Madam Speaker, now that I am not as crunched for time as I am in question period or at other opportunities, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as Assistant Deputy Speaker.

I also want to thank the constituents of Brampton North—Caledon for electing me for a fourth mandate. I am committed to making sure that their voices are heard and that the issues they brought up to me during the election and in years prior are worked on effectively and efficiently. I want to thank my campaign team and my family at home, who have always supported me completely.

I will now start my remarks on Bill C-2, the bill we are talking about today. This is a wonderful opportunity, and it allows me to fulfill some of the commitments I have made to my constituents. As the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, I am really proud to play a role in supporting this government's initiative to keep Canada and our communities safe and secure.

In April, Canadians gave this House a mandate to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians. Our country has professional, highly trained and hard-working security personnel. However, it is clear that the current tools and policies are insufficient to effectively counter the modern and emerging threats and challenges we face today.

Now is the time for action. We must do more to equip our law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the latest tools and technologies, do more to stop transnational organized crime from damaging communities and destroying lives with illegal guns and weapons, and do more to enable collaboration and information sharing among our security agencies, law enforcement partners and international allies.

Bill C-2 is a crucial legislative step we must take to secure our border, support law enforcement and improve community safety. This government's top priority is to keep our communities safe and our economy thriving. Both of these objectives depend upon decisive measures to combat crime and keep our border safe and secure. The effects of improving our border security will be felt in cities and towns across Canada. By giving border officers the authority to search goods for export, we are ensuring they have additional tools to recover stolen vehicles and seize illegal firearms and drugs.

This legislation is building on the Government of Canada's $1.3-billion investment in border security through our Canada border plan. This spending is helping our law enforcement and intelligence agencies investigate and prosecute transnational organized crime groups, which have become increasingly more sophisticated in their use of new technologies like drones, 3-D printers and encrypted communications to carry out cross-border crimes.

We cannot have a strong border without good intelligence. The border plan has built up our information and intelligence-sharing capacity among federal, provincial and territorial authorities, as well as with our international partners. Investment in drones, helicopters, sensors and other detection technologies ensures that we are effectively monitoring our whole border.

We will continue to work with Canada's fentanyl czar to coordinate all levels of government and law enforcement to dismantle these networks. To support that aim, we have taken a major step in the fight against organized crime by listing seven transnational criminal cartels as terrorist entities under our Criminal Code. Listing is an important tool that helps support criminal investigations and strengthens the RCMP's ability to prevent, disrupt and prosecute criminal activities.

It is now time to take our efforts further through legislation. Bill C-2 would improve the tools and authorities that Canadian law enforcement needs to fight crime. For instance, communities across Canada have been shocked by the increase in deaths caused by illegal fentanyl. Fentanyl's devastating effect can be felt on individuals, families and communities. Every member of this House knows someone who has been affected by this public health crisis. Through this proposed act, our work to secure the border, we are tackling the fentanyl crisis and its precursors head-on. To increase our detection capabilities, we are training and deploying new border detector dogs that specialize in uncovering smuggled drugs.

Amendments to the Canada Post Corporation Act would allow police to search and seize contraband such as fentanyl from Canada Post mail with a general warrant. This charge would help indigenous communities and rural municipalities in their efforts to intercept dangerous illegal drugs that are clandestinely shipped through the mail.

Canada recently demonstrated it can move quickly to ban precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl via the temporary accelerated scheduling pathway under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Bill C-2 proposes amendments that would allow chemicals in this pathway to quickly be regulated under the precursor control regulations.

It is clear that we must strengthen our laws to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs both within Canada and around the world. This important step would give the government and law enforcement the ability to stay ahead of those who would profit from fentanyl production and distribution.

Furthermore, we are creating a new Canadian drug analysis centre that would allow for a more specialized analysis of synthetic drug samples. This centre would be able to go beyond simply identifying the components of a sample and would instead look at markets to determine how and where the substances were manufactured. Knowing that transnational organized crime groups depend on illicit money to keep their operations going—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. secretary of state will have three and a half minutes left after question period.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-2, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, the strong borders act would choke off organized crime groups from profits stemming from drug and firearms, trafficking and human smuggling. We will continue to make the safety and security of Canadians and our country a priority.

Canadians know the true value of the rule of law. We would be protecting that with the bill before us. We are proposing the legislation to ensure that law enforcement and intelligence at all levels would have the tools, authority and resources they need to do their job and to keep pace with new and sophisticated methods used by criminal organizations.

By strengthening our border, we would stamp out the traffic in illegal firearms and fentanyl. New provisions concerning lawful access and intelligence sharing would empower our law enforcement agencies and security agencies to intercept stolen vehicles and dismantle organized crime networks involved in things like extortion and child exploitation. I can assure members that we will never stop putting the safety of our communities first.

Canadians are calling out for decisive action, and we are here to deliver. Already, law enforcement agencies and security organizations are coming out in support of the legislation. For instance, the Canadian Police Association has described Bill C-2's provisions as “crucial” and concluded that, “If passed, this proposed legislation would provide critical new tools for law enforcement, border services, and intelligence agencies to address transnational organized crime, auto theft, firearms, drug trafficking, and money laundering.”

The updates would help ensure that Canadian police officers have the tools and intelligence they need to hold offenders accountable regardless of where they operate. The bill is an important first step in the current Parliament's efforts to combat crime. Canadians expect us to act; let us not let them down.

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

Mr. Speaker, clearly we all want to cut down on crime and resolve the issues at the border.

As the shadow minister for civil liberties, I have one question for the member. There is a measure in the bill that talks about Canada Post and the employees having the ability to open mail and potentially seize it. In light of our charter right to ensure no unwarranted search and seizure, I wonder what criteria would be applied. What would be the threshold to allow Canada Post workers to do that?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if I say it here today, I do not think members and most Canadians would believe it: Even with a warrant, our authorities are unable to search Canada Post mail. The bill would allow the authorities to access a general warrant from a court so they could capture fentanyl or parts being imported to modify guns for people to make their own assault rifles here in Canada.

These are very important measures we need to give law enforcement in order to keep our streets safe. I think Canadians expect us to have these provisions in place.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my colleague's question.

If this bill moves forward, what criteria would allow Canada Post employees to open mail: suspicion? Reasonable grounds?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the police authorities would have to access a warrant from the court. It would not be the case that Canada Post employees would randomly open up pieces of mail. This would give our policing authorities, the CBSA, and the RCMP in particular, the ability to get a warrant in order to open the mail. It is currently being done with FedEx, Purolator and all other types of mail. The only restriction was with Canada Post, so this would be in line with all the other methods we have in place.