In the wake of reports of massive government data requests and criticism from the interim privacy commissioner, the official Opposition wants the Conservatives to put together a blue-ribbon panel to investigate warrantless data collection by the federal government.

“In the digital age personal information can so easily be recorded, shared, and stolen — Canadians are legitimately concerned that they’re losing their right to privacy,” NDP justice critic Françoise Boivin is quoted as saying in the party’s press release.

“It’s time to bring in independent experts, and let ordinary Canadians have their say on an issue they’re increasingly worried about.”

This comes after several Toronto Star stories revealed the extent to which the government has been collecting personal data.

One, in late April, showed that the federal government made over 1.2 million data requests of telecommunications and social media companies in 2011 alone.

And another, earlier this month, showed that interim privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier expressed concerns in a February letter that the government was collecting personal information from social media sites “without regard for accuracy, currency and accountability.”

Though the Harper government introduced a Digital Privacy Act in April that will force companies to disclose security breaches like the one at Target in January, it also included a warrantless disclosure provision that alarmed privacy law experts such as the University of Ottawa’s Michael Geist.

Owing to the growing unease about the ways in which Canadian law permits widespread warrantless disclosures of personal information and government-backed surveillance activity, Geist, who is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, told iPolitics a larger independent investigation is a good idea.

“The legal rules are found in a myriad of laws, making it exceptionally difficult to fully understand what is happening, whether there is sufficient oversight, and how Canadians can safeguard their privacy,” Geist wrote in an e-mail.

“A broader independent investigation would help our understanding of what is happening and what legal reforms may be needed.”

Last week, Geist and 34 other academics joined 19 watchdog groups in releasing a public letter to the government.

That letter gave the Conservatives a sample of the recommendations they might expect if they agree to convene the panel requested by the NDP.

Among its proposals, the letter asked the government to drop all attempts to give law enforcement warrantless access to Canadians’ data.

In a press conference with Boivin Monday morning, Charlie Angus — the NDP’s ethics critic — said a panel was necessary because parliamentary committees have become “dysfunctional and little more than a joke.”

The interim privacy commissioner and her predecessor, he added, had done the best they could.

“The previous privacy commissioner and the interim privacy commissioner have done extraordinary work for Canadians, but this is a government that has stonewalled them and refuses to listen to their recommendations or even give them the tools to fulfill their jobs properly,” he said.

Asked if he and the NDP had approached the Conservatives about the panel, Angus acknowledged they hadn’t yet.

But the party later clarified they plan to send Treasury Board President Tony Clement a letter about it shortly.

Should the government turn them down, however — as they did when the NDP asked for cross-country hearings on the Fair Elections Act — Angus didn’t rule out the possibility of the official opposition going at it on their own.

“If the prime minister doesn’t listen to us, well then we will take the next steps as they come.”