Many tech entrepreneurs were already concerned that Bill C-51 — the controversial piece of national security legislation passed by the Harper government — is turning Canada into “a horrible place” for tech companies to do business, as one put it. Now, they are growing worried that the federal Liberals’ are apparently considering expanding online surveillance as part of their review of Bill C-51. Public Safety Canada is considering warrantless access to Canadian Internet users’ identifying information, as well as a rule that would require Internet providers to keep track of all web surfers’ activities.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale in Saskatoon on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The Liberals have launched a review of Bill C-51 that appears to aim expand police powers. (Photo: The Canadian Press/Matt Smith) More than 60 entrepreneurs from Canadian tech and new media companies have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, expressing “serious economic and data security concerns with the direction of the federal government’s national security consultation.” Among the signatories is Tim Bray, the founder of OpenText, Canada’s largest software company and one of the country’s overall largest businesses. Although the Liberals voted in favour of Bill C-51 while in opposition, Trudeau has expressed some regrets on the matter, and Goodale vowed to remove the “problematic elements” of Bill C-51. But the consultation launched this fall focuses its attention on ways to expand government powers online, and doesn’t ask the public if they would like to see any scaling back of the new powers given security agencies and police under Bill C-51.

Canadians gather to protest against Bill C-51, the federal government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, on March 14, 2015. (Photo: Seyit Aydogan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) One of the ideas being considered is an order that would force Internet providers to keep track of all their users’ Internet activities. A new law passed in the U.K. this fall does just that, requiring online data retention for a period of one year. But the open letter from tech executives argues that Internet providers actually should delete their users’ data. “Such practices actually strengthen data security and customer privacy,” the letter stated. The Public Safety consultation appears to be looking at ways of reinstating “lawful access” — the principle that police should be able to access data about Internet subscribers without a warrant. In a 2014 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada severely restricted the ability of law enforcement to collect this information without a warrant, and police forces say that since then, Internet providers have been demanding warrants before they provide that data.