We have recommended essentially four types of amendments to Bill C-13.
One issue is related to the question of thresholds that I mentioned earlier. The bill currently proposes that access to information under production orders would be on the basis of reasonable suspicion. We recommend that it be on the basis of reasonable grounds to believe. I think that if it stays at the level of reasonable suspicion, this threshold is vulnerable to charter challenge.
The second issue is the immunity clause I also referred to earlier. Here I recommend that the law be clarified so that only in circumstances provided for in Spencer would the state have access to information.
A third type of amendment has to do with the range of public officers who would be authorized to act under Bill C-13. We propose that the range be narrowed significantly.
Fourth, to enhance transparency, we recommend that the use of these powers be the subject of reporting.