Canada’s ‘Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act’, also known as Bill C-293, has been passed by the House of Commons and had its first reading in the Senate.
The Bill has raised several concerns about government overreach, health privacy, civil liberties and unclear priorities. Its language, surveillance powers and potential for economic disruption pose significant risks.
It grants broad discretion to officials without thorough oversight, allowing political interests to outweigh public welfare. The lack of clarity in the bill’s language could lead to arbitrary decisions with economic and legal implications.
Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, which has passed its first reading before the Senate, aims to establish robust measures to mitigate future pandemics. However, a closer look reveals several concerns related to government overreach, health privacy, possible violations of civil liberties and unclear priorities.
One of the primary issues is the bill’s establishment and interlinking of surveillance systems for infectious diseases, both domestically and internationally. The extensive data collection proposed – especially with international linkages involving organisations such as the World Health Organisation (“WHO”), United Nations Environment Programme (“UNEP”), the Food and Agriculture Organization (“FAO”), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (“OIE”) – raises significant privacy concerns. This could lead to widespread monitoring of citizens’ health data, potentially without their explicit consent.
The legislation also mandates collaboration between the federal government, provincial governments, and indigenous communities to collect and share health data. This requirement may create data privacy, security and misuse concerns.
Another troubling aspect is the bill’s broad discretion granted to the Minister of Health and other relevant officials. They are empowered to set pandemic preparedness standards and make far-reaching decisions about public health responses, surveillance, and commercial regulations. The absence of thorough oversight or parliamentary approval for such decisions raises concerns about transparency and accountability, potentially allowing political interests to take precedence over public welfare.
Read more: Canada’s Pandemic Bill is a threat to privacy, civil liberties and more