VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Edward Snowden spoke in Vancouver via video link tonight.

His appearance is timely, as the Panama Papers scandal dominates global headlines.

Simon Fraser University is hosting the sold-out talk with the National Security Agency whistleblower at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

SFU communications professor Catherine Murray says Snowden talks about the issues surrounding big data, security and human rights.

“They really point to the difficulty of guaranteeing 100 per cent security for any data, don’t they? They actually have shown how the stakes for so-called ‘public hacking’ in the public interest are rising.”

Murray says technology is ahead of current laws and she expects to see tax law reform down the road.

If you’d like to watch the Snowden event, you can watch it below.