Two bills were introduced this week which focus on enhancing police powers regarding the monitoring and collection of telecommunications and digital information.
While the mainstream media has provided coverage of the bills (CBC, Globe and Mail) and explained their implications, there is a serious need to stress the violations of the right to privacy this legislation proposes.
An obvious need to update legislation to reflect the digital age cannot overshadow the government's binding responsibility to preserve the right to privacy for its citizenry.
The current bills constitute a grave imbalance of court oversight and surveillance powers. For a sound analysis please read Dr. Michael Geist's, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, recent blog post.
