The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is intervening in a Supreme Court of Canada case that it says will decide how far government agencies, including the Canada Revenue Agency, can go in demanding Canadians’ private records.
“The government already takes enough of your money. It shouldn’t get a blank cheque to go snooping through your private emails, text messages and personal information too,” CTF general counsel Devin Drover told Rebel News.
The case is Ontario Securities Commission v. Binance Holdings Limited. In 2023, the OSC ordered the cryptocurrency exchange to turn over every communication about Ontario or Canada sent by any of its directors, officers, employees, contractors or consultants since January 1, 2021, with no limit on subject matter.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario struck down the demand in November 2025, calling it “staggering in its breadth.” The court ruled the order violated section 8 of the Charter, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, because the regulator had no reasonable foundation to believe the documents were relevant to its investigation.
The OSC is now asking the Supreme Court to replace that test with a looser one, under which an agency could demand any records “rationally connected” to its inquiry. According to the CTF, the OSC’s own filings say the ruling will affect the CRA’s power to demand records under the Income Tax Act.
The CTF argues that in a tax audit, almost any record a person holds can be tied to their income, so a lower standard would hand auditors near-unlimited reach.
“Just because some government bureaucrat wants to dig through your private life doesn’t mean they should have the power to do it,” Drover said.
He pointed out that Binance, a multinational company, spent more than two years before three different bodies before any court ruled on its Charter argument.
“Most Canadians don’t have an army of lawyers or deep pockets to fight back when government agencies overstep their authority. That’s why we’re taking this fight to the Supreme Court,” Drover said. “The government needs to be reminded that Canadians have constitutional rights, and those rights don’t disappear just because the taxman comes knocking.”
The case lands as Ottawa moves to toughen the CRA’s hand. According to the CTF, the Carney government’s budget bill, C-31, now before a House of Commons committee, would let the CRA fine taxpayers $50 a day, to a maximum of $25,000, for failing to fully answer an information request.
“If the Supreme Court lowers the bar in this case, it lowers it for the taxman too,” Drover said in a statement. “A tax auditor could demand years of a small business owner’s emails and texts on a hunch, and Ottawa wants to fine people $50 a day until they comply.”
The Supreme Court has not yet set a hearing date.
