POLICE, CSIS WANT POWER TO INTERCEPT PERSONAL E-MAILS

Law Would Also Allow Monitoring Of Secure Sites, Text Messages

The federal cabinet will review new legislation this fall that would give
police and security agencies vast powers to begin surveillance of the
Internet without court authority.

The new measures would allow law-enforcement agents to intercept personal
e-mails, text messages and possibly even password-secure websites used for
purchasing and financial transactions.

A law professor and privacy expert involved in consultations over the bill
said a draft version of the legislation circulated earlier this year did
not require court authority for police to intercept communications or
demand information from Internet servers.

"I think it's the kind of legislation that is literally going to shock
millions of Canadians," said University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler disclosed the plan during a speech to a
conference of police boards from across the country. He told reporters he
and Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan are preparing a memorandum to
cabinet following months of discussions with police, privacy experts and
the Internet industry.

Mr. Cotler said law-enforcement agencies have lagged behind as use of the
Internet exploded over the past decade.

An internal briefing note for the head of the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service last February said it has become increasingly
difficult for the agency to intercept communications for surveillance
purposes and supported legislation to give law agencies more powers.

Mr. Cotler says the government wants to put police and security forces on a
"level playing field."

"Criminals and terrorists are making use of the most sophisticated
technology," said Mr. Cotler. "They have become experts, frankly, in
transborder communications and transportation technology."

Mr. Cotler said the government is aware of objections around the effects
the surveillance could have on the privacy and legal rights of citizens.
Under current law, it is illegal to intercept and open letter mail, but it
is unclear whether e-mails are in the same legal category.

The Defence Department's Communications Security Establishment has the
ability to intercept all telephone communications within Canada and calls
across the border, but must obtain ministerial permission to intercept and
record telephone calls in which at least one Canadian citizen is involved.

And police need court permission to eavesdrop on telephone conversations.

"I hope we will come up with a memorandum to cabinet that can protect human
security in the sense that we will put law enforcement people on the same
level playing field as criminals and terrorists in the matter of using
technology and accessing that technology, and at the same time we will
protect the civil libertarian concerns that are involved," said Mr. Cotler.

But Mr. Geist said the version of the legislation that was circulated by
the government failed to protect the privacy and legal rights of citizens.
It also placed a severe requirement on Internet service providers to hold
data and records of Internet and e-mail use by their clients.

"It really reshapes what Canada's Internet looks like, creating a real
surveillance network," said Mr. Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair
in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. "The provisions
we've seen extend as far out as the Competition Bureau. This will create a
significant basket of new rights for all manner of law-enforcement authorities.

"It envisions a dramatically new Internet, new kinds of surveillance powers
for law enforcement, new kinds of surveillance capabilities for network
providers and requirements for network providers to disclose information
about Canadian Internet users, often with little or no judicial oversight,"
Mr. Geist said.

He said the draft version allowed police the right to telephone Internet
service providers around the clock, and require them to provide records and
data on client files within 30 minutes.

However, NDP MP Joe Comartin, a lawyer and the party's justice critic, said
MPs on the Commons justice committee who heard testimony about child
pornography over the Internet concluded police do not have enough power to
adequately investigate and prosecute offenders.

"Generally, members of the committee from all parties are concerned about
the limitations police are operating under," said Mr. Comartin. "Our police
forces always seem to be lagging behind."

Mr. Comartin said the biggest obstacle police face is obtaining records and
information about client web use from Internet service providers. He said
the new law would likely allow police to intercept transactions on secure
sites used for bank transactions and purchasing a range of merchandise.

Conservative MP Vic Toews, while supporting expanded powers for police
surveillance of the Internet, said collection and storage of information
and records should not be allowed unless the agents are able to prove to a
judge there is justifiable reason to intercept the communications and
gather the data.