Public Safety Committee on Feb. 8th, 2024

[Leila Wright]

The CRTC does not have a role with respect to cybersecurity.

Perhaps I will give the question to my colleague, Steven Harroun, who can speak about some of the enforcement work that we do in the space.

[Steven Harroun, Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]

To your specific question, the answer is no. I think the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is your best witness on that information, as my energy regulator colleague mentioned.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

You are not told by any of the companies that are under your jurisdiction, any of the entities, that there's been a cybersecurity breach. You are unaware of that.

[Leila Wright]

We work very closely with our colleagues at ISED to regulate in this space, and we can undertake to get back to you with a response.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

I think that would be helpful, because we've been stunned by some of the massive figures of cybersecurity breaches or attempts. This morning, we heard from BlackBerry that there were over five million in the last 90 days. Similar to the energy sector, the telecommunications sector is a vital sector and it would seem to me self-evident that there would be attacks and attempts. What I hear is that, at this point, there's no gathering of that information, and I think that's of some concern. If you have any information at all that you can provide to the committee, that would be helpful.

Can I ask to what extent the CRTC was consulted on this bill prior to its being tabled? Was there any consultation at all? Did the government reach out to you, given your regulatory role?

[Leila Wright]

Perhaps I can direct that question to my colleague Mr. McIntyre.

[Anthony McIntyre, General Counsel and Deputy Executive Director, Legal Services, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]

We were consulted prior to the tabling of the bill. Given the fact that our role under the amendments is very limited, we were only consulted on the few provisions that would apply to us, so we weren't involved in the policy discussion beyond what applies to us in the legislation.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Is what you see in the legislation reflective of the feedback that the CRTC provided?

[Anthony McIntyre]

I don't know that I'm in a position to comment on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Julian.

What we're going to do is give two and a half minutes each for the final two questions.

Go ahead, Mr. Motz, please, for two and a half minutes.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Thank you very much, Chair.

I'll focus my questions on the CRTC. Last year, the Auditor General reported that the CRTC was not doing enough to track the affordability of Internet and cellular services, particularly in rural and remote areas. Has the CRTC undertaken any sort of analysis of the impacts of Bill C-26 as written on the prices that Canadians pay for Internet and cellular services?

[Leila Wright]

Not to my knowledge.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

So you don't know. Okay, that's interesting.

Do you think that it will have an impact on the prices of Internet and cellular services?

[Leila Wright]

It's difficult for me to respond to that question without additional data and information. What I can say is that the CRTC is working very hard to promote choice and affordability for Canadians across the country, including in indigenous, rural and remote communities.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

I would encourage you to consider the question to see whether there is an impact.

We also know that Bill C-11 and Bill C-18 gave sweeping new powers to the CRTC. We've heard from witnesses that Bill C-26 as written also grants too much power, mainly ministerial power. How do you recommend amending the act to give Canadians the confidence that there will be proper oversight without overreach and that transparency and accountability will be balanced?

[Leila Wright]

I'm unfortunately not in a position to comment on the legislation that is before the committee. Our role is to implement legislation that is passed by Parliament.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

I'm done, then, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Motz.

Go ahead, Mr. McKinnon, please, for two and a half minutes.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I do understand that you're a quasi-judicial body, and that limits what you can respond to here, but we're here to study Bill C-26 to make it better so that when it is delivered out into the world, it does its job. Is there anything you can offer us that will help us do that?

[Leila Wright]

What I can do is comment on the proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act that touch on the CRTC's work. One of those proposed amendments is to allow the CRTC and other securities-focused government departments and agencies to share information in particular circumstances.

In other areas, we have the ability to share information among departments and agencies, and my colleague Steven Harroun can speak to some of the ways in which we have used that ability.

[Steven Harroun]

To build on Ms. Wright's comment, one of my roles in compliance and enforcement is with Canada's anti-spam legislation. In that legislation, there is very prescribed information sharing with my partners at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Competition Bureau. We can share information as it relates to CASL and as it relates to our specific roles in enforcing that legislation, which has proven to be very effective.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

Thank you.

That concludes our meeting today.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Sorry, I've been wondering about this. The Minister of Public Safety was scheduled to come to us for a two-hour discussion with regard to victims' rights. Do we have any idea when the minister will be coming for those two hours? That motion was agreed to quite a while ago.

[The Chair, Liberal, Heath MacDonald]

We'll follow up, Mr. Shipley. We're still waiting for an answer.