The Parliament of Canada has published the first-reading text of Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, 2026. The bill is a proposal and is not yet law. Part 1 would amend the Criminal Code and other laws. Investigators could demand that a telecom provider confirm whether a person is a customer. Responses to production orders, which compel a company to hand over records, would be sped up. A judge could also authorize a request to a foreign service provider for subscriber information or transmission data. Part 3 calls for a parliamentary review of Parts 1 and 2.
Part 2 would create the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act. Parliament's summary describes it as a framework so electronic service providers can help authorized people use their access powers under the Criminal Code or the CSIS Act. The summary lists headings such as confidentiality and security regulations, and a power to order an end to a contravention. Whether the bill will pass, and in what form, is not known.
The bill defines subscriber information to include names, email addresses, account numbers and the devices a customer used. Teams that run services should check which of these they store. They should also check which of their users are in Canada.