BILL CURRY

From Friday’s Globe and Mail

February 13, 2009 at 4:19 AM EST

OTTAWA — Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart delivered a stern warning to the federal government yesterday, saying she is strongly opposed to any legislation that allows the “mass surveillance” of private e-mails and phone calls.

She was reacting to the news that the government wants to update Canada’s wiretapping laws with new police powers to monitor criminal suspects in the digital era of cellphones and chat rooms.

“My concerns are a huge increase in surveillance powers,” said Ms. Stoddart, who has been raising objections since such an update was first proposed in legislation in 2005 by the Liberal government of Paul Martin. The commissioner, who has had general discussions with federal officials and has been monitoring developments in other countries, said she expects to be consulted on any federal legislation.

“The [obtaining] of a warrant for looking into people’s private papers, private affairs, now e-mail conversations is a basic tenet of our democratic and constitutional rights in Canada. To erode this is a very serious step toward mass surveillance so I would like to get a copy of any draft legislation and look at how this could be possibly justified. I’ve said in the past I’ve seen no compelling argument put forward for its justification.”

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told a Commons committee Wednesday that his government would propose “changes to programming and legislation” that would modernize police powers to catch criminals using modern devices.

Yesterday, the minister stressed that he supports Ms. Stoddart’s concerns and that legislation is not imminent.

“We can’t allow new technologies to defeat law enforcement. We have to protect our communities,” Mr. Van Loan said. “That being said, we also have to make sure that whatever solutions we come up with respect privacy rights of law abiding Canadians. … The concerns of the Privacy Commissioner are quite legitimate. We don’t want to have legislation that intrudes on privacy rights and I can assure you we wouldn’t come forward with that kind of legislation. But we also need to find a way to address a very real problem that’s out there.”

Opposition critics said they share the commissioner’s concerns and would want to see the details of any legislation before taking a position.

Should the government move ahead, it could present an interesting political dynamic in the minority House of Commons.

The Liberals faced considerable resistance in government from Ms. Stoddart and other privacy advocates when they attempted a “lawful access” law in 2005. But a new private member’s bill suggests Liberals and Conservatives may not be far apart on this issue.

Last week, Liberal MP Marlene Jennings introduced a 33-page private member’s bill that is similar to what the Liberal government proposed. The legislation even carries the same title: the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act.

The Liberal bill would force Internet service providers to be technologically equipped to allow police to “intercept communications and to provide subscriber and other information without unreasonably impairing the privacy of individuals.”

Tags: Privacy, Surveillance

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