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Do you think Vladimir Putin spies on his employees?

Of course he does. He’s literally a former KGB spy. And Putin has established a vast surveillance infrastructure in Russia — which he uses to squash dissent and crush his critics.

Being spied on by your superiors is never, ever good — in Russia or anywhere else. But is it against the law in Canada?

The answer may surprise you: Not so much.

Now, in Ontario, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton has initiated a raft of legislation to foster a better employer-employee relationship. Among McNaughton’s changes: A worker’s bill of rights, to prevent bosses from imposing on workers’ personal time — and a ban of non-compete clauses, which have the effect of trapping employees hoping to find a new job.

McNaughton’s ministry has won accolades from labour organizations — one of which, full disclosure, my firm represents — for his efforts to protect workers from intrusive and/or bullying bosses.

But what about Canada-wide? Are workers currently protected from being spied on by their employers, online and off?

If Liberal MP Michael Coteau has his way, they will be.

Coteau represents a Toronto-area riding. He’s also been a senior minister at the provincial level under past Liberal governments. And Coteau is this week bringing forward a legislative package to prevent employers from spying on their workers, anywhere in Canada.

“I’m doing this because there has been a huge growth in employer monitoring of employees who work from home — and there are virtually no protections for employees, no rules for employee consent, no rules about data storage.” says Coteau.

“Is your boss spying on you at home? As creepy as it sounds, it is happening more and more. Over the past two years there has been a massive growth in employee monitoring software and no one is talking about this. I think we need to do something about it.”

Privacy rules across Canada are a patchwork of laws and regulations — many of which never anticipated the sort of software that companies can now use to monitor employees after-hours. Over the course of pandemic, Coteau says, “there’s been a huge increase in employer surveillance of employees who work from home, and without privacy protections or consent.”

“Surveillance technology,” as it’s sometimes called, isn’t anything new. Workers at warehouses or those who do so-called gig work have long been the targets of high-tech that is welded to track their whereabouts, and what they are doing.

But, in the past two years, such technology has become more and more sophisticated — and more and more intrusive, says Coteau. As a Ryerson University Leadership Lab report said last year, “digital technologies played a critical role in connecting employers with employees beyond the physical workplace and into employees’ homes (during the COVID-19 pandemic).” The problem, however, is that the new software didn’t just allow employees to work remotely. “It also enabled employers to track, monitor and analyze workers,” said the report’s authors.

So, if your iPhone can access sensitive work documents when you’re at home, your boss may also be able to see what’s on your phone — or tablet, or desktop computer. Remote access sometimes works two ways, giving you access to work stuff. But it may also be giving your boss full access to what you are doing after-hours.

Coteau has support from MPs across the political spectrum. And he intends to bring forward his package next week.

Says the MP: “I’ll be working with my colleagues in the House — and other legislators and key opinion leaders across Canada — to bring forward a comprehensive package, including a Private Members’ Bill, to address the issue.”

“Should your boss be able to turn your camera on and watch you at home without your knowledge? I say no way!”

Us, too. We don’t need Vladimir Putin’s approach to privacy.

In Canada, or anywhere.

— Kinsella is a lawyer and has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Calgary

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Vladimir Putin is a fascist.

He’s a war criminal. He’s a thug. He’s a murderer.

But he’s also losing his war against Ukraine. He’s already lost, in fact.

Ten reasons:

1. NATO. More than anything else, perhaps, the Russian dictator wanted to stop Ukraine’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was weakened during the chaotic Donald Trump era — and Putin wanted to keep it that way. Instead, his attack on Ukraine has unified NATO like never before.

2. CHINA. Putin’s closest superpower ally has been China. He didn’t start his illicit war until the Beijing Olympics were over — and he was counting on China’s tacit support while he waged war. But China has clearly been stunned by world reaction, and has been decidedly unhelpful to Putin at the United Nations and elsewhere. Putin needed China’s unquestioning support. He doesn’t have it.

3. EU. Until now, the European Union has been European, perhaps, but not so united. Since the commencement of war in Ukraine, however, the EU has acted swiftly, decisively and as a common front — and, for the first time, provided arms to a nation under attack. Like NATO, the EU is united and stronger like never before — because Putin underestimated both.

4. SWISS. The Swiss are known for cheese and banking — with holes in the former, but none in the latter. For the first time in history, however, the notoriously secretive Swiss banking system has abandoned neutrality and frozen millions held in personal accounts belonging to Putin and his cabal. That was a move neither Putin nor his regime ever expected.

5. RUSSIANS. Thousands of Russians have taken to the streets, across Putin’s fiefdom, to loudly and defiantly oppose his war. They have done so at great risk to themselves and to their families — and hundreds have been imprisoned for doing so. Meanwhile, even some of the most ardent Putin loyalists — the oligarchs he made rich, and vice-versa — have started to openly oppose the war, too.

6. SWIFT. The expulsion of Russian banks from SWIFT, the nervous system that joins financial institutions around the globe, has crippled the Russian economy, and rendered the ruble virtually worthless. Without SWIFT, Russia cannot conduct trade with the rest of the world.

7. TRUMP. Putin could always count on Donald Trump, and the Trump Republicans, to offer unqualified support. Trump, in fact, even paid tribute to Putin’s “genius” in a recent speech — and was stunned by the massive backlash it caused. Since then, Trump and his Republicans have been walking back their fealty to the Russian leader, and condemning his war in Ukraine.

8. CANADA ET AL. Little Canada and other nations who lack superpower clout have been punching above their weight during this illegal war. Canada, in particular, has sent Ukraine fighting troops for training, shipped lethal weapons, initiated the calls for Russia’s expulsion from the global financial system, and this week pushed for the prosecution of Putin as a war criminal. Whatever their many faults, PM Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have done exceptionally well since the war began.

9. WEATHER. Writer John Mraz returned from Ukraine this week. On my Kinsellacast podcast, Mraz said that unseasonably warm temperatures have hurt Putin’s military. Russian heavy artillery has been confined to roadways because the ground is too soft and muddy — thereby making that artillery an easy target for Ukrainian military.

10. UKRAINIANS. More than anything else, Putin was counting on Ukrainians to put up little or no defence — as was the case when he annexed Crimea in 2014. That hasn’t happened. The Ukrainian military, and Ukrainian people, have fought with a ferocity that all of us will be speaking about for generations. Their bravery and strength has been astonishing, and an inspiration for the world. So too their leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In the end, Putin may take Ukraine, but he will not hold it. He will never hold it.

Because all of the world are now united against him — and united in support of the Ukrainian people.

— Warren Kinsella was special assistant to Prime Minister Jean Chretien

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