Stop the Muzzle and Monitor Bill Before It Destroys Free Speech and Privacy
CitizenGO – started this petition to Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree, and all MPs – 2025/10/08
Bill C-8, officially titled An Act respecting cyber security, has passed Second Reading and now moves through committee toward a final vote. Although framed as a cybersecurity measure, it functions as the Muzzle and Monitor Bill, a sweeping law designed to silence dissent and monitor citizens without oversight.
If passed, the bill grants the Minister of Industry the power to order telecom companies to disconnect individuals from internet, mobile, and payment services in secret.
No warrant. No judge. No public explanation. No appeal. No process. No transparency.
One internal directive is enough to erase someone’s digital presence.
The bill also enforces a mandatory gag order. Any person disconnected must remain silent. Speaking to friends, journalists, or even the courts triggers immediate fines: $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for each repeat offense.
Businesses face up to $15 million in penalties for warning customers, refusing an order, or going public. Company executives who object will face criminal charges and jail.
Censorship is only the beginning. Bill C-8 also builds the legal foundation for mass surveillance. It allows government agents to collect Canadians’ browsing history, location data, and financial records, all without a warrant.
Encryption backdoors become possible. Privacy disappears. Once a backdoor is created, it will not stay in government hands. Hackers and foreign adversaries will find it.
While civil liberties collapse, critical infrastructure remains unprotected. No new safeguards apply to hospitals, schools, or essential systems. The bill strips freedoms without securing anything.
Bill C-8 does not stand alone. It forms part of a broader framework that now includes:
- Bill C-9, the so-called “Online Harms Act,” better described as the Everything is Hateful Bill, which redefines broad categories of expression as punishable “hate.”
- Bill C-2, the “Strong Borders Act,” better described as the Peeping on Canadians Bill, introduces sweeping powers to monitor, collect, and centralize private data across government agencies.
Together, these bills create a legal regime of censorship, surveillance, and ideological control.
Speech is regulated. Privacy is erased. Dissent is punished.
Legal scholars, human rights advocates, and cybersecurity experts have all raised the alarm.
This is not a debate about safety.
It is a shift toward authoritarian governance.
Call on Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree, and all MPs to vote NO on Bill C-8, the Muzzle and Monitor Bill, and to defend our rights to free expression, privacy, and lawful access to digital services.
Sources:
Bill C-8 could strip internet, phone access for dissenting persons – Rebel News
Parliamentary Library: Legislative Summary of Bill C-8
Cyber security Bill C-8 passes second reading | The Catholic Register
Bill C-8 revives Canadian cyber security reform: What critical infrastructure sectors need to know
Government needs to fix dangerous flaws in federal cybersecurity proposal – CCLA
Federal Bill C-8 signals coming change for Canadian cybersecurity | Insights | MLT Aikins