Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Surveillance Negotiations Raise Constitutional and Human Rights Whirlwind under U.S. CLOUD Act

This article critiques ongoing negotiations for a Canada–U.S. CLOUD Act agreement, warning it would extend U.S. law enforcement’s reach into Canadian-stored data without Canadian judicial oversight, undermining Charter privacy protections. It contrasts Canada’s rejection of the U.S. third‑party doctrine with U.S. standards, flags risks of real-time surveillance, data repurposing, and targeting of marginalized groups under broadly defined “serious crimes,” and notes the absence of remedies for non‑U.S. persons. Citing sovereignty, human rights, and accountability concerns, it urges the Canadian government to reject or substantially constrain any such agreement.