IMAGING OUTSIDE HEAT CONSIDERED INSIDE THE LAW

SAANICH - Legal questions have arisen about whether thermal imaging is an
intrusion on a person's civil rights, specifically whether the device is
able to "see inside" someone's home.

The issue in the U.S. is whether a search warrant is needed before the
device can be used on a home suspected of housing a marijuana growing
operation. In this country, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled earlier
this year that thermal imaging is an acceptable tool for use by the
police.

"The court essentially found there wasn't even a Charter violation,"
said Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association.

Therefore, police do not need to seek permission to violate a right to
use the device in their investigation. The idea is that thermal
imaging depicts only what is emanating from a home, not what is inside.

Canadians are protected against unreasonable search and seizure under
Section 8 of the Charter of Rights, which grants people a reasonable
expectation of privacy. Civil libertarians continue to have concerns
about surveillance technology in general, including cameras that only
record what is in plain view.

"If you had a police officer following you down the street, looking
over your shoulder, you would object," Mollard said.

Future technology could pose more of a problem in regards to rights.
Mollard says the U.S. military has a device that effectively looks
through walls.

"I think the concern is that there are a variety of technologies that
enhance the state's abilities to gather information about citizens,"
Mollard said. "I think this (current technology) is the tip of the
iceberg."

Mollard also is quick to point out that the BCCLA opposes the basic
concept of enforcing drug laws.

"One can't let the context of the grow-op scenario go uncontested
here."

He says the BCCLA endorses the legalization of both the supply and use
of drugs, and is opposed to what it deems to be the state's contortion
of civil rights and freedoms to target marijuana growers.