Canada’s privacy commissioner has written a letter to the federal public safety minister outlining her “deep concerns” about potential online surveillance legislation.

In a letter to Vic Toews, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart wrote that the provisions of three bills that were introduced in the last session of Parliament would have had “a significant impact on our privacy rights”.

The three “lawful access” bills were introduced during the last session of Parliament as C-50, C-51 and C-52. The Conservative government is expected to reintroduce the legislation.

“By expanding the legal tools of the state to conduct surveillance and access private information, and by reducing the depth of judicial scrutiny, the previous bills would have allowed government to subject more individuals to surveillance and scrutiny,” wrote Stoddart.

“In brief, these bills went far beyond simply maintaining investigative capacity or modernizing search powers. Rather, they added significant new capabilities for investigators to track, and search and seize digital information about individuals.”

Stoddart wrote that in her view, “the government has not convincingly demonstrated that there are no less privacy-invasive alternatives available to achieve its stated purpose.”

She added that if Parliament does ultimately allow law enforcement and national security authorities to circumvent the courts to obtain personal information, that the oversight and reporting safeguards be “significantly strengthened”.

Stoddart and provincial privacy commissioners have previously expressed their concerns about the potential legislation.

The group OpenMedia.ca launched a campaign and online petition opposing the bills in June 2011.