Canada quietly signs UN treaty critics say could expand global surveillance
Questions mount after Ottawa quietly reversed course on a UN treaty it once feared could expand government surveillance.
The Carney government has quietly signed a controversial United Nations cybercrime treaty that critics warn could dramatically expand international surveillance powers—all without a public announcement in Parliament or a national debate.
The move has triggered demands for answers from Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis, who questioned why Ottawa abandoned its earlier objections to the agreement and signed it with little public attention.
“The Liberal government should explain why there was no parliamentary or public debate on this treaty that many believe will impact the surveillance of Canadians,” Lewis wrote Friday.
Ottawa insists the UN Convention against Cybercrime is intended to help countries cooperate against transnational cybercrime and contains some of the strongest human rights safeguards ever included in an international criminal justice treaty.
