Opposition to the Liberal government’s new bill to bolster border security has been growing, with critics raising concerns about threats to privacy and civil liberties.
Opposition parties criticized Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, in second reading in the House of Commons on June 5. While parties agree on the need to crack down on criminal activities involving the border, there are concerns the bill is going too far in granting new powers to security agencies.
The bill would give police and CSIS access to internet subscriber information without a warrant and allow Canada Post to open letters.
Some of the criticism that surfaced in the previous Parliament when the Liberals tabled their Online Harms legislation, Bill C-63, is returning to the forefront. Bill C-63 lapsed when Parliament was prorogued earlier this year, but before that the justice minister had said it would be split into two bills given opposition to provisions impacting freedom of expression.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said Bill C-2, combined with the Online Harms legislation, would allow the government to “target whatever it deems to be spreading hateful content.”
She said this would “essentially form Voltron-type censorship,” in an apparent reference to a Japanese anime series from the 1980s that had been heavily censored to remove death scenes before being presented to an American audience.
“The government has not indicated what policy concerns, aside from vague references to security, these provisions are needed for,” Rempel Garner said. “These snooping provisions are a massive poison pill that should not have been included in this bill.”
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who sponsored the bill tabled this week, defended the measures, saying lawful access requires “modernization” in Canada. “We are the only Five Eyes and G7 country that does not have a lawful access regime,” he said.
He added that Bill C-2 “does not violate the civil liberties or rights of individual Canadians.” Opposition MPs noted that a Charter statement was not provided with the bill, but Anandasangaree said it will be coming.
“The bill would keep Canadians safe by ensuring law enforcement has the right tools to keep our borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of illegal fentanyl, and crack down on money laundering,” he said.
Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Éloi Fortin said the bill does address many of his party’s concerns regarding border security and combating organized crime, but he also expressed concerns around privacy.
“There is one thing in this massive bill that bothers me and raises numerous questions, and that is the security of personal information,” he said. “The bill would significantly expand police powers.”
Fortin asked the minister whether it is possible to limit the ability of police and CSIS to conduct searches without a warrant, saying a provision could be added to include the requirement to prove that obtaining a warrant is impossible.
Anandasangaree repeated that the bill will not infringe on privacy rights and that there would be judicial oversight.
Other Opposition
Civil liberties groups have also begun raising concerns about Bill C-2. Some, under the umbrella of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, have called for the bill to be entirely withdrawn and re-introduced as separate pieces of legislation to address specific border concerns.
Bill C-2 in its current form is an omnibus bill that would amend a sizeable number of laws, from the Canada Post Corporation Act to the Oceans Act.
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, which includes human rights organizations like Amnesty International and labour unions like Unifor, has called the bill “highly troubling” in a statement, saying many aspects don’t relate to border security.
“It is clear that, under the guise of addressing border security and placating the Trump administration, the government is seeking unrelated powers that they have unsuccessfully attempted to obtain in the past, and which will have wide-ranging negative impacts,” the group said.
Bill C-2’s long title specifically mentions the border with the United States and was introduced after Ottawa released its $1.3 billion border plan in late 2024. The full title of the bill is “An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures.”
The plan came in response to U.S. tariff threats after Donald Trump was elected president in November. Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico using emergency powers after he took office, citing the threat of drug trafficking and illegal immigration across their borders with the United States.
Bill C-2 aims to tackle these issues, including by granting greater access to border officers to conduct searches in export facilities. The bill would also make it easier for Health Canada to add precursor chemicals used in narcotics manufacturing to the controlled schedule.
A number of amendments proposed to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would also make it harder for individuals to claim asylum in Canada.
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