Canada's lawful access legislation was designed when conventional technologies, such as the rotary phone, were commonplace. Today, increasingly sophisticated communications technologies are challenging the lawful interception of communications and the lawful search and seizure of information. Law enforcement and national security agencies have identified this as a growing problem that threatens the effectiveness of their investigations of serious crimes and threats to national security.

Other countries, including the United States and other G-8 states, have pursued improvements to lawful access that balance the needs of law enforcement and national security with the need to protect privacy rights.

To assist the government in striking an appropriate balance, the Minister of Justice, in collaboration with the Solicitor General of Canada and the Minister of Industry, has undertaken a comprehensive legislative review on lawful access, which has been ongoing since 2000. As a key component of this review, consultations were launched on August 25, 2002. A consultation paper, which set out a number of legislative proposals, was published to provide a focus for discussion. The consultations generated input from law enforcement agencies, representatives of the telecommunications industry and the civil society sector, and the general public.

The deadline for submissions in response to the consultation paper was December 16, 2002. Over 300 submissions were received and summarized in a report that is available at: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/cons/la_al/index.html.

Submissions from law enforcement agencies indicated that increasingly complex communications technologies are challenging conventional lawful access methods. Police services gave examples where criminals and terrorists are taking advantage of these technologies to assist them in carrying out illicit activities that threaten the safety and security of Canadians. To overcome these challenges, police services have called for modernization of legislative tools, such as the Criminal Code and other statutes, to permit law enforcement and national security agencies to effectively investigate criminal activities and threats to national security.

At the same time, civil society groups and privacy commissioners made it clear that the privacy rights of Canadians should not be compromised by an initiative intended to maintain the effectiveness of law enforcement and national security. These groups requested further evidence that legislative reform is necessary. They submitted the view that any new legislation should not expand police powers, and should be accompanied by appropriate and effective accountability mechanisms.

While recognizing the importance of lawful access to public safety and security, telecommunications industry representatives also expressed privacy concerns regarding the proposals. Stressing that further dialogue is required, industry respondents also identified concerns about the costs associated with providing the technical capability for lawful access.

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August 2003