Bill C-13's Legislative Bullying
Solomon Friedman;
Remember those "lawful access" provisions, much touted by former Public Safety Minister Vic Toews of "stand with us or with the child pornographers" fame?
Those were the proposed police powers that caused a virtual revolt in both the Conservative caucus and the government's principal constituency. The possibility of unfettered and warrantless access to sensitive personal information inflamed the embers of the fundamental libertarian values that once guided the Reform party.
Well, lawful access is back. This time embedded in Bill C-13, with a few superficial changes, intended to mollify the Conservative base which soundly rejected the last attempt at imposing such measures.
Canadians weren't fooled by Vic Toews and they shouldn't be fooled by Peter MacKay either.
Indeed, two insurmountable problems remain with the "lawful access" laws as presently proposed in Bill C-13.
First of all, while Minister MacKay has stressed that judicial authorization -- that is, a judge's order -- is now required for police to obtain sensitive and identifying information about Internet users, he is only telling half the story...
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