What’s proposed in the government’s harmful content consultation, and where it falls down.

What happened to the Liberals' promise to reform the infamous, anti-terror legislation Bill C-51 and where do we go next?

On February 8th, our Executive Director, Laura Tribe testified before the Parliamentary committee reviewing Bill C-59, delivering thousands of voices and raising Canadians’ top privacy concerns.

Over 30 civil society organizations and experts have signed a joint letter calling on the government to restore trust in the commitment to respond to Canadians’ concerns over mass surveillance

Our own Victoria Henry argues that Canadians deserve better than Bill C-51 - we deserve our privacy back.

Today’s ruling reinforces the case for a full repeal of Bill C-51 and for stronger accountability and oversight mechanisms

Your OpenMedia team met with top officials at Public Safety Canada about Bill C-51 — and we had lots to say!

The consultation that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been longing for is around the corner.

Today’s announcement has the potential to strengthen oversight of Canada’s security agencies, but is only the first of many reforms required.

Our own Laura Tribe met with Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, Ralph Goodale, to discuss the reckless, dangerous and ineffective Bill C-51. Here's what happened and what happens next. 

Minister Goodale’s plan to adopt the UK’s model of spy agency oversight leaves a lot of key questions unanswered.

As Canada marks one year since the introduction of Bill C-51, our Laura Tribe examines where we're at, and the prospects for repealing this controversial bill.

CBC Radio's The Current​ discusses the BCCLA/Dogwood challenge against CSIS. Will we ever get to the truth of what did or did not happen? Join us and sign the pledge at https://bccla.org/dont-spy-on-me/ Article by CBC Radio Dogwood BC is an environmental advocacy group in British Columbia. Its members have campaigned against the Northern Gateway Pipeline, in addition to other causes.  

Next week the SIRC is holding a secret hearing about a complaint that alleges CSIS illegally spied on activists and First Nations people. The high-profile case is being led by our friends at BCCLA.  Article by Travis Lupick for the Georgia Straight A group of B.C. environmentalists is about to have its day in court in a high-profile case against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Before Bill C-51, CSIS shared information with other federal agencies - but they needed the Public Safety Minister's permission. C-51 removes political oversight, giving CSIS access to 16 other agencies information about you without even needing to ask. Speak out now to get the bill repealed at KillC51.ca Article by Alex Boutillier for the Toronto Star

Now we learn that even CSIS didn’t want the extreme privacy-undermining measures in Bill C-51. Speak out at KillC51.ca Article by CBC News The Conservative government alarmed privacy advocates by overhauling the law to give Canada's spy agency easier access to federal data, even though the spies themselves said greater information-sharing could be done under existing laws, newly released documents show.

This journalist experienced first hand what Canada will look like if Bill C-51 is passed. Keep speaking up at StopC51.ca Article by Darren Fleet for the National Observer Out of morbid curiosity I made a Freedom of Information request to the government spy agency, CSIS. I asked them if I had ever been subject to surveillance. To help with their inquiry, I gave them my name, and a brief description of my activities over the past five years – writing, environmental and social activism, and working for the Vancouver Observer and Adbusters magazine.

In this hard-hitting op-ed, George Arthur asks what it will take for Canadians to get answers about out-of-control spy agency CSEC. Article by George Arthur for the Digital Journal This is the question I am left with as I consider what it will take for Canadians to demand answers about the true operations of the spy agency that is set to move into the most expensive governmental building in the nation’s history. According to the careers page for Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), “2014 promises to be an exciting year.” The organization is scheduled to move into “a newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility co-located with the Headquarters of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service” (CSIS). The new home for Canada’s top spies “will be the largest repository of Top Secret information in Canada.”

This hard-hitting piece by Professor Michael Geist argues for a full, independent investigation into CSEC's spying activities. As Parliament is set to resume shortly, the time has come for MPs to take a far greater interest in what our security services are doing in our name. Will 2014 be the year when our out-of-control spy agency is finally reined in? Call for an end to all illegal spying on Canadians at https://OpenMedia.ca/CSEC Article by Michael Geist for the Toronto Star Months of surveillance-related leaks from U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden have fuelled an international debate over privacy, spying, and Internet surveillance. The Canadian-related leaks — including disclosures regarding spying on the Brazilian government and the facilitation of spying at the G8 and G20 meetings hosted in Toronto in 2010 — have certainly inspired some domestic discussion. Ironically, the most important surveillance development did not involve Snowden at all.

Last month we brought you news on how it had been revealed that CSIS wanted to help 'advise' Vic Toews on rewriting Canada's Online Spying Bill C-30, all in the hopes that with their input the legislation would be passed through government. Although they want to bypass our Internet security and privacy as citizens, this past week their own internal security protocols have been called into question. In newly released documents it was shown that two employees were suspended following breaches late last year. Let's not allow CSIS to mishandle our own Internet security. Sign our petition to Stop Online Spying at http://openmedia.ca/StopSpying and tell your MP to stand against Bill C-30 at http://openmedia.ca/stand. Article by Jim Bronskill of The Canadian Press Two security breaches at Canada's spy agency prompted employee suspensions last year, newly released documents show. In the most serious case, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service employee was suspended for five days without pay following an incident involving information that "must be kept in the strictest of confidence and in full compliance with the need to know principle." The CSIS employee was found to be in violation of several aspects of the spy agency's conduct policy, including provisions on security, performance of duties, integrity and compliance with direction.