Pubdate: Mon, 22 Aug 2005
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2005 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Cliff Garbutt

FREE SOCIETY AT RISK

Re: Gangs Joining Forces, Aug 19.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan
are stepping far beyond their bounds in proposing to give police
sweeping powers to spy on Web users, open private e-mails and turn
Internet service providers into intelligence-gathering surveillance
units.

There is simply no justification or perceived threat strong enough to
warrant stripping Canadians of basic rights to personal privacy and
autonomy, on the Internet or anywhere else. And if the government
thinks that Canadians are willing to throw away their rights just to
make life easier for the police and the spy agencies, they are in for
a shock. Canadians would be truly horrified to see Canada adopt
policies that were once the mainstay of the dreaded spy agencies of
the cold war Eastern bloc, where every telephone conversation was
recorded, every movement tracked and every letter opened.

If the chiefs of police and the heads of the spy agencies complain
that they can't do their jobs within the bounds and framework of a
free and democratic society, then perhaps they should step aside and
let others have a try. The same goes for Anne McLellan and Irwin Cotler.

Cliff Garbutt

Vancouver.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin