OT: Tuesday Globe -- Ottawa and Wiretap access

[Jamon Camisso]

B B wrote:
> If this process is important enough to hide now how
> about in the future? Imagine you are charged with a
> crime and the presenting of the evidence against you
> causes the exposure of the methods used to obtain the
> evidence, will the prosecution be allowed to present
> "confidential evidence"? Evidence hidden from you!

I think this Sept. 20 article from Wired illustrates your point:

"Secrecy Power Sinks Patent Case"
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68894,00.html?tw=wn_story_top5

"After a year of pretrial wrangling, the case had progressed to the 
point that Schultz could start subpoenaing documents to support his 
claim, when the government intervened to assert the state secrets 
privilege."

I'd say that, though the case revolved around a patent (in the US of 
course!), the government response was rather analogous to hypothetical 
situation you have illustrated. If presenting evidence in one's defense 
in a public court was deemed a potential (even!) security risk, I have 
no doubt that the same (equivalent) executive powers could be exercised 
over the case here in Canada.

Though I may be assigning too much agency to Minister McLelland in this 
case, I nevertheless hold the opinion that she doesn't seem to think 
that that same standard of public disclosure should work the other way 
as well -- if I can be held accountable for my actions by an invisible 
surveillance system, shouldn't she and her office *at least* be 
accountable in the making of said system? It seems only reasonable to 
expect as much from a democratically elected official.

Again, the thing that bothers me is that in both the planning stages of 
this legislation and in the *potential* outcome(s) of this legislation 
i.e. our hypothetical court case, I as a citizen am deliberately kept 
out of the loop. If legislators want to or can have it both ways, why 
can't I?

 From an economic perspective, if said "organized crime" possess the 
means to circumvent most surveillance technologies, isn't forcing telcos 
and ISPs to spend money on building in back-doors and wiretap abilities 
just throwing good money after bad? Why bother at all?

Jamon Camisso



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