Statement from Ministers Goodale, Lametti and Sajjan on the passage of  Bill C-59 in Parliament

Ottawa – June 19, 2019 – Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, issued the following joint statement:

“Over three years ago, the Government engaged Canadians in a large, unprecedented public consultation on national security, which has served as the foundation for Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters. 

“Bill C-59 is currently awaiting Royal Assent. Once in effect, it will modernize and enhance Canada’s security and intelligence laws by providing our agencies with the clear constitutional and legal framework they need to do their work effectively while safeguarding Canadians’ rights and freedoms. Bill C-59 will accomplish three important objectives:

• enhancing accountability and transparency through the new National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, the Intelligence Commissioner, and the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act. These measures will be complemented by the adoption of a National Security Transparency Commitment;
• fulfilling our commitments to fix former Bill C-51 through greater precision with respect to threat reduction measures under the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, amendments to the Criminal Code, improvements to the Secure Air Travel Act (SATA) and revisions to the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act. Amendments to the SATA would include the authority to correct the issue of “false positives”  related to the SATA list, which has affected children known as “No Fly Kids”; 
• strengthening security and protecting rights by keeping pace with evolving technology and threats through measures such as modernizing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, establishing the Communications Security Establishment Act, and making other legislative updates.

“Bill C-59 has been thoroughly examined in both Houses of Parliament. We are grateful for the careful review of the Bill by members of the House and Senate committees. Their work led to more than 40 amendments that strengthened the Bill.

“When many of our security and intelligence laws were written, the fax machine was cutting-edge.  Bill C-59 will bring our laws into the 21st century, allowing our agencies to keep pace in a constantly changing and difficult world. We are confident that Bill C-59, once in effect, will protect both the safety and rights of all Canadians.”

Associated Products

• Backgrounder: Enhancing Accountability and Transparency
• Backgrounder: Fulfilling Commitments to Address Former Bill C-51
• Backgrounder: Strengthening Security and Protecting Rights