INDU passes several amendments to C-27

The House of Commons Industry Committee is continuing its clause-by-clause study of Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Act. Wednesday evening it made haste in getting through many facets of the legislation. The panel picked up where it left off, with a sub-amendment from Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull to an NDP motion. The original amendment dealt with the definition of the word anonymize. With NDP representative Brian Masse stating the privacy commissioner’s office said it can work with the new wording, Turnbull’s motion passed by consensus without a recorded vote. That having been dealt with, the committee turned to a Conservative amendment that would align the English and French text of the bill. The controversy revolved around the words deidentify in English and dépersonnalisation in French. The French contains elements of risk mitigation not found in the English term. Tory MP Bernard Généreux asked Innovation, Science and Economic Development officials how legislation is written. Mark Schann, senior assistant deputy minister of the strategy and innovation policy sector replied that it was written in both languages together. “They’re written in the two languages and then there’s a review process after the drafting to make sure that the two texts are identical,” he stated. The NDP had a similar motion on the floor. Masse was willing to have the Conservative amendment supersede his. “The Conservative party has never led me astray,” he quipped. When the motion passed, also by consensus, it was time for committee chair Joёl Lightbound to make light of the situation. “If the government leaves some imperfections in its bills, it’s to test the opposition members and you successfully passed the test,” he joked. Next up was a Tory amendment on releasing information to law enforcement. There was much reference to the 2014 case of R. v. Spencer where the Supreme Court ruled police need warrants to access information from ISPs. The privacy commissioner had agreed to this amendment, the panel was told. Schaan said the motion would provide greater clarity. It passed. Finally the Conservatives introduced a motion that would raise the definition of minor from 14 to under 18. BC MP Brad Vis spoke at length defending his party’s amendment, which Turnbull said the government is likely to support. That raised the hackles of Bloc Québécois member Jean-Denis Garon, who pointed out the NDP currently has a bill before Parliament which would lower the voting age to 16. “We’re not talking about the purchase of alcohol, driving and so on. We’re talking about the disclosure of information on social media,” he said, according to a translation. Eighteen is too high and 14 is reasonable, the Quebec MP said. The matter was still being discussed when the clock ran out. The topic will be voted on at the next sitting of the committee. – Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

INDU passes several amendments to C-27

News | April 18, 2024

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INDU passes several amendments to C-27

News | April 18, 2024

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