Online spying by police is a chilling prospect
The Harper government has curious views of individual freedom and privacy. On the one hand, the federal Tories properly decry the long-form census as an invasion of privacy and the long-gun registry as a heavy-handed government intrusion into the lives of law-abiding citizens. Yet those who dare raise privacy concerns about the government’s proposed online-surveillance legislation are accused of supporting pedophiles and child pornographers.
This absurd, insulting and offensive suggestion, uttered Monday by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, demonstrates a philosophy of convenience on the part of the Harper Tories. It won’t oblige citizens to answer prying census questions, nor should it — answering those questions should be done voluntarily without threat of fines. Yet, it will force Internet service providers such as Shaw and Telus to hand over the names, mobile phone numbers, and e-mail and IP addresses of their customers to police without a warrant.
On Monday, when Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia pointed out the privacy concerns surrounding the government’s lawful access legislation for electronic surveillance, Toews responded, “He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.” It was a classic “fer us or agin us” moment, ranking right up there with the utterance by George W. Bush, that, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” which rendered any opposition to the war in Iraq as unpatriotic.
This is not the first time the government has outrageously accused its tough-on-crime opponents of favouring pedophilia. In 2004, when Stephen Harper made a similar suggestion in accusing the Paul Martin Liberals of being soft on crime, Martin lashed back by saying, “I am a father and I am a husband, and he has crossed the line. He should apologize.” The exchange may have given the Liberals a last-minute boost that returned them to office with a minority.
It was ironic that Toews’ remark came the same day that a judge rightfully declared as unconstitutional the mandatory three-year minimum for a gun crime, which was a key Tory initiative. The case involved a man who was horsing around with a gun in front of a computer. It was a clear example of judges needing discretion in sentencing. Holding up a store with a gun warrants a three-year minimum, but a kid fooling around with a gun in a private home deserves some slack.
The Harper government’s approach to crime is one of black cowboy hats and white cowboy hats, with no room for those who don hats that are grey. While many of its crime initiatives are justified, nobody expected Harper to become Dirty Harry in a pinstriped suit. If the police have reasonable grounds for illegal online activity, they can get a warrant, not go on phishing expeditions by snooping in the computers of ordinary Canadians.
Editoral: Calgary Hearld
This absurd, insulting and offensive suggestion, uttered Monday by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, demonstrates a philosophy of convenience on the part of the Harper Tories. It won’t oblige citizens to answer prying census questions, nor should it — answering those questions should be done voluntarily without threat of fines. Yet, it will force Internet service providers such as Shaw and Telus to hand over the names, mobile phone numbers, and e-mail and IP addresses of their customers to police without a warrant.
On Monday, when Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia pointed out the privacy concerns surrounding the government’s lawful access legislation for electronic surveillance, Toews responded, “He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.” It was a classic “fer us or agin us” moment, ranking right up there with the utterance by George W. Bush, that, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” which rendered any opposition to the war in Iraq as unpatriotic.
This is not the first time the government has outrageously accused its tough-on-crime opponents of favouring pedophilia. In 2004, when Stephen Harper made a similar suggestion in accusing the Paul Martin Liberals of being soft on crime, Martin lashed back by saying, “I am a father and I am a husband, and he has crossed the line. He should apologize.” The exchange may have given the Liberals a last-minute boost that returned them to office with a minority.
It was ironic that Toews’ remark came the same day that a judge rightfully declared as unconstitutional the mandatory three-year minimum for a gun crime, which was a key Tory initiative. The case involved a man who was horsing around with a gun in front of a computer. It was a clear example of judges needing discretion in sentencing. Holding up a store with a gun warrants a three-year minimum, but a kid fooling around with a gun in a private home deserves some slack.
The Harper government’s approach to crime is one of black cowboy hats and white cowboy hats, with no room for those who don hats that are grey. While many of its crime initiatives are justified, nobody expected Harper to become Dirty Harry in a pinstriped suit. If the police have reasonable grounds for illegal online activity, they can get a warrant, not go on phishing expeditions by snooping in the computers of ordinary Canadians.
Editoral: Calgary Hearld