New border control bill doesn’t strike a balance between security and civil liberties, says Sen. Simons

Introducing S-7 in the Senate ‘could be interpreted as an attempt to quietly pass this bill through without as much observation and media interest,’ says OpenMedia’s Bryan Short.

Bill S-7, which would allow border officers to search personal electronic devices and would impose a new legal test that determines when they can do so, has been introduced in the Senate, but Sen. Paula Simons says the bar isn't set high enough.Photograph courtesy of Paula Simons’ office and Unsplash photograph by Chris Ried

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BY DENNIS KOVTUN

May 11, 2022

A government bill aiming to set a new threshold for allowing border guards to search a traveller’s personal devices is going in the wrong direction and needs more scrutiny, according to a Senator. “The language of Bill S-7—let me stress this—actually lowers the bar for a search. Far from e...

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