For Immediate Release
July 5, 2006
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association is sounding alarm bells about Internet service providers (ISPs) monitoring or investigating customers’ online communications, as these actions could have a serious impact on lawyer-client confidentiality.
“The confidential nature of the communication between an individual and his or her lawyer is a cornerstone of democracy and must remain sacrosanct,” says CBA President Brian A. Tabor, Q.C., of Halifax. “The CBA has serious concerns that monitoring by ISPs could erode that confidentiality, by threatening open and honest communication between lawyers and their clients.”
The CBA notes that these measures could have a serious impact on the privacy of the public. “These new steps must conform with legal protections and guarantees that safeguard Canadians’ rights and freedoms, and they must be closely monitored to ensure that conformity.”
In a letter to Justice Minister Vic Toews, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, the CBA says that ISPs appear to be introducing a content monitoring scheme without the necessary prior authorization or oversight.
The move by ISPs goes beyond proposals contained in Bill C-74, the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act, introduced by the former government. “The current initiative by ISPs appears significantly more intrusive than the previous legislative proposal,” says Brian Tabor. “When it comes to lawyer-client confidentiality, a heightened level of care and scrutiny are imperative.”
“Prior judicial authorization is central, and blanket customer agreements without judicial authorization or oversight do not meet that test,” says Brian Tabor.
The letter to the three federal Ministers can be seen at:
http://www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/06-31-eng.pdf
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
