ETHI Committee Report
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Appendix B: Access by Other Federal Institutions to Software Used to Extract Information from Digital Devices
On 1 February 2024, the Committee adopted the following motion:
That, in relation to the study on the use of tools capable of extracting personal data from telephones and computers by government institutions, the committee write to each federal department and agency not already named in the study and request that they confirm whether or not they have procured or have access to software used for extracting information off of electronic devices; and request that the response be sent to the committee no later than 10 business days after receipt.
The following table summarizes the responses received by the Committee from 54 federal institutions, some of which responded on behalf of a department and its agencies. Of these federal institutions, 17 responded in the affirmative when asked whether they have purchased or have access to software to extract information from electronic devices.
It is important to note that the software the institutions either purchased or reported having access to does not necessarily correspond to the specific digital forensic tools mentioned by the representatives of federal institutions who appeared before the Committee during the study, the most common being Cellebrite and Magnet Axiom/GrayKey.
Of the 17 institutions that said yes, only the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Courts Administration Service and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) have purchased Magnet Axiom. ESDC indicated that it had purchased the software but had never used it. The Department of Justice and ESDC reported having purchased Cellebrite but, as with Magnet Axiom, ESDC reported that it had never used it. Other software that these institutions reported having access to included X-Ways, EnCase, FTK and RECON ITR.
Table 1—Access to a Digital Forensic Tool
Federal government Institution |
Purchase or access to software used for extracting information off of electronic devices |
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) |
No |
Bank of Canada |
Yes |
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) |
No |
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions |
No |
Canadian Food Inspection Agency |
No |
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) |
Yes |
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) |
No |
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) |
Cannot respond |
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |
Yes |
Farm Credit Canada |
Yes |
Canadian Dairy Commission |
No |
Canadian Grain Commission |
No |
Farm Products Council of Canada |
No |
Department of Canadian Heritage and its portfolio (except CRTC) |
No |
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada |
Yes |
Indigenous Services Canada |
Yes |
Canada Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada |
Yes |
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) |
Yes |
Health Canada |
Yes |
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and its agencies |
Yes |
Department of Justice |
Yes |
Courts Administration Service |
Yes |
Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada |
Yes |
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada |
Yes |
Military Grievances External Review Committee |
No |
Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada |
No |
National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman |
No |
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) |
Yes |
Transport Canada |
No |
Veterans Affairs Canada |
Yes |
Superintendent of Financial Institutions |
No |
Privy Council Office |
No |
Public Health Agency of Canada |
Yes |
Royal Canadian Mint |
No |
Treasury Board Secretariat |
No |
Canada School of Public Service |
No |
Communications Security Establishment (CSE) |
Cannot respond |
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario |
No |
Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario |
No |
Department of Finance |
No |
Infrastructure Canada |
No |
Mortgage and Housing Corporation |
No |
Canada Infrastructure Bank |
No |
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority |
No |
Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated |
No |
Public Prosecution Service of Canada |
No |
Agencies under Natural Resources Canada’s portfolio |
No |
Prairies Economic Development Canada |
No |
Canada Development Investment Corporation |
No |
Women and Gender Equality Canada |
No |
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada |
No |
Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) |
No |
Parks Canada |
No |
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada |
No |
Source: Table prepared by the Library of Parliament using responses obtained by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics from various federal institutions and Shared Services Canada.