One of the Harper governments arguments for abolishing the long gun registry and making the long form census non-compulsory weret hat they were intrusions into citizens privacy. But Feb. 13 Public Safety Minister Vic Toews tabled Bill C-30, titled Protecting Children from Internet Predators This bill would require that internet service providers (I.S.P.s) must disclose on demand to the government, and without a warrant information identifying internet users. This would include the name, address, phone number, email address and I.P. address. Section 34 requires I.S.P.s to install surveillance technology and software to allow monitoring of phone and internet traffic. It also says the government agents may enter an I.S.P. without a warrant and demand to see and copy anything they wish. Section 33 states, The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons as inspectors for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this act. What is not clear is who these inspectors might be- perhaps your neighbour, perhaps your local councillor- or perhaps the Conservative Party of Canada. Section 34 also indicates, Inspectors may enter any place owned by or under the control of any telecommunications service provider in which the inspector had reasonable grounds to believe there is a document, information transmission apparatus, telecommunications facility or any other thing to which this act applies. Once in, the inspector may reproduce or cause to be reproduced any information in the form of a print out or other intelligible output, and remove the printout or other output, for examination or copying. In simpler terms, this means an agent appointed by the Public Safety Minister Toews can access information identifying your name, address, phone number, email account and I.P. address. They may then make copies of any information they choose. Such all-encompassing searches require no warrant, and do not even need to be in the context of a criminal investigation. We dont know who the agent might be or why the minister might choose this person. If you think that you would not be subject to internet snooping, think again. In the mid-80s the MacDonald commission learned that the R.C.M.P. had obtained unauthorized access to personal information about thousands of Canadians, and had opened files on 800,000 Canadians. Vic Toews, after tabling Bill C-30, when questioned in the House of Commons about its contents said, You can either stand with us or with the child pornographers. In other words, if you oppose Big Brother watching you, you side with child pornographers. Later, in an interview with Evan Solomon on CBC Radio’s The House, Toews said his understanding of the bill is that police can only request information from the ISPs where they are conducting “a specific criminal investigation.” But Section 17 of the ‘Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act’ outlines “exceptional circumstances” under which “any police officer” can ask an ISP to turn over personal client information. “This is the first time that I’m hearing this somehow extends ordinary police emergency powers [to telecommunications]. In my opinion, it doesn’t. And it shouldn’t.” said Toews This leads me to question Vic Toews credibility or his competence, or both. Did he table a bill in the House of Commons, one that would allow internet snooping without a warrant and not related to a criminal investigation, without clearly understanding its provisions? Or is he lying, pretending not to have understood the implications of Bill C-30? Either way, he should resign as Public Safety Minister. Bill C-30 will now go to committee for revisions. But we as citizens and voters must not forget that the Harper government introduced this bill, and had it not been for the huge outcry against its provisions, it would have been passed. Please remember this when you vote in the next federal election.
Dorothy Knight