Robin Skies: Liberals a much larger threat than big tech

Delgates arrive for the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Montreal on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Allen McInnis / MONTREAL GAZETTE)

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There’s something comedically ironic about the Liberal government’s plans to force tech companies to turn over the private data of Canadians.  

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Bill C-22, also known as “An Act respecting lawful access,” would give the Government of Canada the ability to do things like turn on the microphone on your mobile devices, without judicial oversight, or force tech companies to create backdoors to encrypted data, among other things. 

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Unsurprisingly, the legislation is causing some uproar in Canada, most notably from American tech companies, who are now leading the charge to kill the bill.

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The reason why it’s so ironic is that the Liberal government has a history of clutching its pearls over everything big tech does, insinuating that it’s bad for Canadian democracy, while simultaneously undermining Canadian democracy by eroding our civil liberties.

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Take, for example, Steven Guilbeault, Liberal MP and former heritage minister, who argued in 2020 that big tech needs to be regulated because it won’t censor materials that the government of Canada considers harmful to Canadians: “We have free speech in our society, but people can’t say everything,” he said. 

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Around the same time, Guilbeault was also gravely concerned that companies might have access to data he didn’t want them to have. He rightfully observed that there should be regulations around privacy so that people’s rights aren’t being infringed.  

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Guilbeault isn’t the only former Liberal minister who’s shown concerns around data collection and privacy either. Former housing minister and current MP Nate Erskine-Smith has also been a critic of big tech in the House of Commons, where his questions at committee have shown that he understands that there’s a need for privacy to be protected.

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Pablo Rodriguez, a former MP and heritage minister, has made tech companies a target as well. In a 2022 keynote speech, he suggested that they must be brought to heel: “We can leave it up to big tech … or challenge them to be better, to be more accountable to the public interest, to us, as citizens, and also to us as a society. Platforms have enormous power. And with enormous power comes enormous responsibility.”

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Former MP and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, through a spokesperson in 2024, spoke out about the need to force companies to pay their “fair share,” justifying the digital services tax her government had enacted. Freeland implied that it was in Canada’s national interest to go after these digital service providers. The digital services tax was rescinded in 2025.

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This Liberal government has not hesitated to argue that unchecked power from a large overarching body could be a massive threat to Canadian civil liberties and national stability. Why do they think that it’s wrong when big tech does it, but it’s totally fine if they do it instead? 

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In a strange twist of fate, it’s the American tech company Signal that is rightfully calling out the Canadian government for its intrusions into privacy. Earlier this month, it threatened to stop providing service in the country if this bill passes.