Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaCanadian PoliticsLiberals pull out 'guillotine' motion to shut down debate on police search powers billSuch motions are referred to as a guillotine because they cut off debate after a certain amount of timeLast updated 4 days ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree speaks at the foyer of the House of Commons at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /PostmediaOTTAWA — The majority Liberal government is pulling out the “guillotine” for one of its most contentious pieces of legislation, moving to give MPs until Friday to pass its controversial bill facilitating police and intelligence agencies’ ability to intercept and collect personal information.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorLate Monday, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon put a motion on notice that would effectively put an end to clause-by-clause debate of Bill C-22 at committee by Thursday night and put an end to the second reading stage. The motion then gives the government the ability to limit third reading debate to a single MP from each party.Bill C-22 aims to reform Canada’s lawful access regime, which regulates the most intrusive powers afforded to police and intelligence agencies. The new regime would make it easier for police and intelligence agencies to intercept private communications or personal data as part of their investigations.If the Liberals’ motion is passed in the House of Commons as early as Thursday, the Liberals can push through their embattled Bill C-22 by the end of the week when MPs go home for the summer recess. The motion is particularly aggressive in that it aims to curb debate on multiple debate stages of the bill.Such time allocation and closure motions are colloquially referred to as a “guillotine” because they cut off debate after a certain amount of time.Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree accused the Conservatives of obstructing the bill at committee, arguing that spending 10 hours of clause-by-clause study of the bill to only get through roughly 10 of over 100 amendments was a “clear filibuster”.“You can call it any other names, but delay and stalling tactics are not what’s warranted right now. What is warranted is collaboration and cooperation,” Anandasangaree told reporters.“What is not acceptable is obstructionism, and that’s what I’m frustrated about,” he added.But the government’s move to cut debate short at clause-by-clause study — when members of a committee studying a bill debate amendments to various clauses of a bill — infuriated opposition parties.Both Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois accused the government of trying to ram through a flawed bill and stifle legitimate criticism study of such a sensitive reform of police and intelligence powers.“What he calls can filibuster, I call scrutiny. What he calls taking time, we call democracy. Sometimes democracy takes time, especially when there might be issues of drafting,” Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo responded to Anandansagaree’s comments.Bloc Québécois MP Claude DeBellefeuille said the party agrees with the intent behind Bill C-22, but the legislation is far from perfect and requires further study.She also dismissed the minister’s accusation that Conservatives were filibustering or obstructing study of the bill.“I have been very, very informed by the questions of colleagues put to public servants. If the government uses ‘obstruction’ as an excuse to cut debate short, it’s not very honest on their end,” DeBellefeuille said.The bill is strongly supported by police services across Canada and CSIS, who argue that their investigations into serious crimes like extortion, terrorism or child sex abuse material are significantly hampered because of Canada’s lack of a modern-day lawful access regime.But there has been a recent groundswell of opposition against the bill by civil liberties advocates and tech companies like Apple, Meta and Google who argue that the bill goes too far and could significantly undermine Canadians’ right to privacy.On Tuesday, Anandasangaree conceded that he was willing to make changes to the bill to respond to the fierce criticism, including to elements of the legislation he had previously said were not to be touched.The bill is divided into two parts. The first proposes that police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) be able to approach telecommunications companies and ask them if, yes or no, an individual is a client before having to get a warrant. It then sets out a new path for authorities to obtain client information from the companies with the appropriate warrant.The second part of the current bill proposes new obligations to electronic service providers to organize and retain various types of client data — some for up to one year — in a way that makes it obtainable by law enforcement or CSIS with a warrant.That means that if passed, the bill would compel electronic service providers to store and make information like device locations or cameras available to police or CSIS with the requisite warrant. That could be used to track a person’s live location in case they pose a threat to national security or are considered to be in danger, the government cited as examples.After saying last month that he would not be changing the maximum of one year retention period for some metadata for electronic service providers, Anandasangaree said Tuesday that he considered six months to be a good amount.National Postcnardi@postmedia.comOur website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.