Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeInnovationShopify's policy chief says Bill C-22 could handicap Canadian tech companiesTech giants have warned the bill could give the Canadian government the ability to access encrypted data You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke said on X last month that the bill "may well end up dealing a death blow to Canadian tech viability," and called for it to be scrapped. Photo by James Park/BloombergOttawa’s lawful access act casts too wide a net and risks creating an expanded surveillance regime that could harm homegrown companies and jeopardize the country’s push to improve productivity and economic growth, says Shopify Inc.’s public policy chief.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.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.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.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.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 AccountorMichael Liboiron said if the act, Bill C-22, is made into law, it endangers small and mid-sized Canadian businesses because of its compliance burdens and could hinder the growth of larger ones.“If you’re a small company … and you’re being faced with this type of an order, it can be existential,” he said during a webinar hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation on Tuesday.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againHe also said it could also curb the growth of larger Canadian companies such as Shopify that export technology and platforms to customers worldwide.“Exporting technology that is sourced from this type of a context is not optimal,” he said. “It’s a barrier to growth (and) growing your market share in other places in the world.”Ottawa introduced the lawful access bill in March and it passed the House of Commons last week and is now heading to the Senate for final review. The legislation seeks to give law enforcement — from local police to intelligence agencies — the ability to obtain digital information from electronic service providers (ESPs) faster and easier with a warrant.But tech companies, privacy and rights groups and others say the legislation creates sweeping surveillance obligations that compromise Canadians’ privacy, increase cybersecurity risk and hurt industry.The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which researches information and communication technologies, said in a June report that certain elements of the bill would create a “surveillance capability regime,” whereby the government could order platform operators to change how they operate or embed surveillance tools in their services.Ottawa’s bill also includes an obligatory metadata retention clause that the government “could potentially use to require any ESP to access, record and keep sensitive metadata within their reach on every person in Canada or abroad for up to one year,” the report said.Technology platforms such as encrypted messaging app Signal, virtual private network provider NordVPN and privacy-focused web browser DuckDuckGo said in early June they will exit the Canadian market if the bill passes.Tech giants Apple Inc. and Google LLC have said the bill could give the Canadian government the ability to break encryption by forcing companies to build backdoors to access encrypted data.Last week, Ottawa made a series of amendments to the bill, including revising the metadata retention period to a maximum of six months and adding a clause stipulating that “no obligations under this act are to be construed as compelling an ESP to decrypt … any information that is encrypted” or to create pathways to unseal that information.Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government says Canada is the only country among G7 nations and Five Eyes partners that lacks lawful access legislation, adding that other allied nations have set up “robust data retention regimes.” Ottawa argues that Bill C-22 aligns Canada with its allies, and the rules would not authorize government mass surveillance or tracking, lead to the creation of security backdoors nor allow law enforcement to directly access personal information from a platform’s systems. Liboiron said the legislation could handicap Canada’s tech ecosystem at a critical time.“This is not how you build a (tech) ecosystem,” he said. “Weakening cybersecurity or allowing for these backdoor accesses sends a signal to the rest of the world” and creates a reputational hit for Canadian companies.Shopify founder and chief executive Tobi Lütke said on X last month that the bill “may well end up dealing a death blow to Canadian tech viability,” and called for it to be scrapped. 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.