QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Public Safety
Cybersecurity
April 21, 2026
Minister Anandasangaree, thank you very much for appearing before us today and for your in-depth engagement on this important file.
Minister, due to the rapid technological developments, our society has never been more interconnected, but the same technologies we use to chat with our families, pay our bills or even keep the lights on are exploited by malicious actors daily. Could you please outline what specific measures your department is taking to keep Canadians safe from cyber-threats, particularly in terms of securing critical infrastructure and services?
Thank you, senator. It is good to see you as always. I will be coming back to committee next week to discuss Bill C-8, which is now before this house. The previous iteration of Bill C-8 was studied and, in fact, passed by the Senate. Save for a minor technical error, it would have been law.
As we speak right now, we know there is a cyber-threat to one of our major insurance companies, which happened today. We know that other events are happening virtually on a daily basis that impact the critical infrastructure of Canadians as well as the security and personal information of all Canadians.
It is an area where we increasingly need to regulate, and at the very minimum, we need to ensure that there is proper disclosure of what happens. Far too often, companies are resistant to sharing information with the public, in part due to reputational risk, but right now the question is not a matter of if it will happen but when it will happen. When our critical infrastructure is impacted, we must have that information be shared, and Bill C-8 is a very important step in that direction.
Thank you for your answer, minister. As you mentioned, we have heard many claims and concerns about Bill C-8 and about this piece of legislation. Could you please further reassure Canadians by outlining how their civil liberties, privacy rights and the potential costs to industry will be protected?
Senator, on the first elements of the concerns, I can assure Canadians that this does not impact the civil liberties or privacy rights of Canadians.
With respect to costs to be borne by industry, part of doing business is being good citizens. Part of operating in a modern world is to ensure that they have the requisite level of security as well as the ability to report incidents in a timely manner. While I acknowledge there may be costs associated with some industry players, if they’re not ready at this point, it is something that we encourage them to do.
