Signal warns it would pull out of Canada if made to comply with lawful access bill - The Globe and Mail

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is urging the Prime Minister to split in two his government’s lawful-access bill, warning that the current version of the legislation would put Canadian businesses at a competitive disadvantage with the U. S. and EU – and could even drive them to leave the country. In a letter to Mark Carney this week, the chamber warns that the bill risks undermining growth and economic progress. Considering the U. S. trade war with Canada, the letter says, “the timing couldn’t be worse.”The lawful-access bill, known as Bill C-22, would require telecoms, internet companies and other electronic service providers to make changes to their systems to give surveillance and monitoring capabilities to police services and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. CSIS and law enforcement have long argued that Canada is lagging behind its Five Eyes intelligence partners – the U. S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand – in not having such a lawful-access regime to aid investigations.

Psiphon, a software company spun out of the Citizen Lab that helps internet users living under oppressive regimes evade online censorship, plans to leave Canada if the federal government’s lawful-access bill passes in its current form, reports The Globe and Mail. If passed, Bill C-22 would require electronic service providers to make secret changes to their systems to provide police services and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) with surveillance and monitoring capabilities.

On September 8, 2026, President Trump announced new counter-tariffs on Canada in response to Canada’s late August counter-tariffs on the United States. Latest U. S. counter-tariffs target dairy, motorcycles and alcohol