Thank you.
With Bill C-22, we're not talking about a minor amendment. It goes to the core of how Canadians' privacy is protected, how their digital communications may be accessed and how confidence in our institutions is either strengthened or weakened for years to come.
We as Conservatives are committed to seeing part 1 potentially become law before the summer adjournment, but part 2 raises some serious concerns for us—and for all of us, it should—as we've listened at this committee over several sessions.
There's major government overreach and significant expansion of government authority, and I truly believe that this bill needs further study if the committee is going to fix this flawed Liberal surveillance law. When legislation touches Canadians' private communications and personal data, our responsibility is to slow down, to examine it carefully and to fully understand the consequences before proceeding.
We have also heard a CSIS official acknowledge that no technical system is 100% secure. Lawful access mechanisms could be exploited. At the same time, the Public Safety minister acknowledged that trust is undermined when Canadians do not understand how their information is used. That goes to the heart of this issue, so we have to ensure that every risk is examined and every safeguard tested. That requires time, scrutiny and care.
Canadians don't want us to rush. They're asking us to get it right. We shouldn't be racing.
Accordingly, I'd like to give verbal notice of the following motion:
That the committee report the following recommendation to the House:
That the House grant the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security the power to divide Bill C-22, an Act respecting lawful access, into two parts provided that:
a) Bill C-22A consist of clauses 2 to 40, which would amend various Acts to modernize certain provisions respecting the timely gathering and production of data and information during an investigation, including amendments to the Criminal Code, the Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act, the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Cannabis Act;
b) Bill C-22B consist of clauses 41 to 47, enacting the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act which 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, as well as consequential and related amendments to the Intelligence Commissioner Act;
and that both bills contain provisions that will subject them to a parliamentary review, such as those contained in clause 48.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
