THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
OTTAWA, Monday, May 25, 2026
(20)
[English]
The Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs met this day at 4 p.m., in room C128, Senate of Canada Building, the chair, the Honourable Marty Deacon, presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Al Zaibak, Boehm, Cardozo, Carignan, P.C., Dasko, Deacon (Ontario), Hay, McNair, Patterson, White, Youance and Yussuff (12).
Other senators present: The Honourable Senator Ross (1).
Participating in the meeting: Anne-Marie Therrien-Tremblay and Andrés León, Analysts, Parliamentary Information and Research Services, Library of Parliament.
Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Thursday, April 23, 2026, the committee continued its consideration of Bill C-8, An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts.
WITNESSES:
Beauceron Security Inc.:
David Shipley, Chief Executive Officer.
BlackBerry:
John de Boer, Vice President, Government Relations.
Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange:
Jennifer Quaid, Executive Director.
Centre for International Governance Innovation:
Aaron Shull, Research Director.
Citizen Lab:
Kate Robertson, Senior Research Associate, University of Toronto.
ISC2:
Philip Stupak, Senior Director.
OpenMedia:
Matthew Hatfield, Executive Director.
Privacy and Access Council of Canada:
Sharon Polsky, President.
As individuals:
Christian Leuprecht, Professor, Royal Military College and Queen's University;
Matt Malone, Balsillie Scholar, Balsillie School of International Affairs;
Ali Ghorbani, Professor and Director, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity, Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity, University of New Brunswick (by videoconference).
Robbie Grant, Associate Lawyer, Privacy and Data Protection, McMillan LLP (by videoconference).
John de Boer, David Shipley, and Philip Stupak each made a statement and answered questions.
At 4:52 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 5 p.m., the committee resumed.
Kate Robertson, Christian Leuprecht, and Matt Malone each made a statement and answered questions.
At 5:49 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 6:03 p.m., the committee resumed.
At 6:03 p.m., the deputy chair, the Honourable Senator Al Zaibak, took the chair.
Jennifer Quaid, Ali Ghorbani, and Aaron Shull each made a statement and answered questions.
At 6:56 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 7:03 p.m., the committee resumed.
Matthew Hatfield, Sharon Polsky and Robbie Grant each made a statement and answered questions.
At 7:50 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Ericka Paajanen
Clerk of the Committee