That's a very good way to look at it. As I see it, free and informed consent, as they say in medicine, is never free if you want to access whatever it is. Informed consent is a fiction, or even a mirage.
You also said that Canada is a middle power in this area. That's particularly true vis-à-vis the European Union, the U.S. and China.
What hope does Canada have of playing a role and carving out a credible place for itself through its legislation?