I was surprised by the tool itself, by how intrusive it is, and that it was used for so long. Certainly, there have been many discussions over the years—as the RCMP said yesterday, probably since the early 2000s—on the lawful access issue. Both in my term as commissioner and when I was at the Department of Justice, I was following and part of these discussions. But the use of this particular tool to go around encryption, yes, was a surprise.
On August 9th, 2022. See this statement in context.