January 15, 2018
SHARE
CANADALAND
#214 Black Mirror Canada
"From mass dissemination of false information, to impersonation, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes... the possibilities for the types of activities contemplated in [Bill C-59] are limited only by imagination."
Jesse Brown
Host & Publisher

If you thought Bill C-51 was concerning, boy do we have an update for you!

Bill C-59 is the Liberal government’s national security reform bill, and it covers a lot of ground.

According to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab’s report, the potential activities and allowances put forward by Bill C-59 are “limited only by imagination”: Mass dissemination of false information, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes, large-scale denial of service attacks, interference with the electricity grid…

The report also warns that Bill C-59 contains a loophole which would allow the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) — the country’s spy agency focusing on electronic communications — to cause death or bodily harm, and to interfere with the “course of justice or democracy.” (*tugs collar* emoji)

But it’s not all bad. Bill C-59 addresses institutional blindspots like lack of organizational oversight and accountability, and sheds some light onto the CSE’s inner workings. Lex Gill, a researcher with Citizen Lab, says that only 3% of Canadians know what CSE is.

This follow-up to Bill C-51, the Harper government’s controversial anti-terrorism Act, is making its way through parliamentary committees, but has yet to draw national attention or scrutiny.

Gill, along with fellow researchers, outlines over 50 recommendations for amendments to Bill C-59. To learn more, see their 75-page report.

Lex Gill joins Jesse.

This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by our newest sponsor PayTM.

More from this series
“   …the City of Pickering has witnessed a growing infiltration of alt right individuals, ideologies, and influences that have created an atmosphere of uncertainty, fear, and intimidation over our Council, our staff, our residents, and indeed the broader community.” - Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe
March 31, 2025
“ Look inside yourself, Rosemary. I mean, you start from a prior of conflict and Ill will.” - Prime Minister Mark Carney
March 24, 2025
“We cannot treat libraries as organs of propaganda, and whether it's for progressive values or for conservative values, we should not be treating libraries as simply the PR department for the kind of ideology that we believe in, and trying to ban everything else.” - Ira Wells, author of “On Book Banning”
March 17, 2025
We take a dumpster dive to look at all the legislation that got thrown out when Trudeau prorogued Parliament. Jesse tests the theory that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
March 10, 2025
The CBC: Defund or UnF*ck? The choice is yours as we open up the phone lines to hear what you have to say about the possible futures of the CBC.
March 3, 2025
How to tell real populism from bullshit trolling.
February 24, 2025
Russian propaganda or Canadian censorship? What happened when Russians at War came to TIFF?
February 17, 2025
What does Gavin McInnes, founder of registered terrorist entity the Proud Boys, have in common with Jonathan Goldstein, creator of the heartbreaking and hilarious podcast Heavyweight?
February 10, 2025
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
CANADALAND