Roundup: A plea without merit

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At a security and defence conference in Ottawa yesterday, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson gave a plea for warrantless access to people’s Internet subscriber data. Trust us, Paulson said – we won’t abuse it or violate the Charter. Never mind that every privacy expert ever, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada, has said that no, they don’t need this kind of information without a warrant. At one point, Paulson made the comparison of getting a warrant to run license plates, which is patently ridiculous because you can’t get nearly the same information from a license plate that you can from someone’s browser history. Paulson raised all manner of bogeymen by which he needs warrantless access, from cyber-attacks to child pornographers, but the funny thing is that after the Supreme Court’s decision against warrantless access to subscriber data, RCMP data shows that forcing the police to get a warrant to see your IP history hasn’t hampered investigations, which makes Paulson’s plea all the more problematic. Trying to get this particularly dangerous power is not a surprise, but it is perhaps a little unbecoming knowing coming from a Commissioner who should know better.

Good reads:

  • Trudeau had his meeting with the Queen, who finds it extraordinary to have a second Prime Minister Trudeau. (And yes, there’s a reason she has the handbag).
  • Also in London, Trudeau made a speech that conceded the Paris attacks raised questions about refugees, but he wanted to focus on strength in diversity.
  • One expert says that Canada isn’t equipped to deal with all of the cases of PTSD that refugees will be suffering from.
  • Bureaucrats from the department of multiculturalim are looking forward to being back in a stable ministry and not carried around Jason Kenney’s various portfolios.
  • Scientists are unhappy with the granting agency for health research.
  • In the Duffy trial, the defence tried to bolster the credentials of Gerald Donohue, but the defence was working on contradictory lines of questioning.
  • Overheated expectations and shipyards rebuilding their capacity are part of why the shipbuilding programme costs are ballooning and in need of an overhaul.
  • Here’s an exploration of some of the wrong leaks on the refugee file.
  • Andrew Coyne and Terry Glavin muse about the politics of the Liberals changing tack on the refugee deadlines.
  • My Loonie Politics column offers some sensible suggestions when it comes to reforming Question Period.

Odds and ends:

Also from Trudeau’s trip, two of his children are joining him, and Birks wants to cash in on promoting Sophie Gregoire’s jewellery.

One of the country’s top scientific minds has some suggestions to help encourage more science in Canada.

Robert-Falcon Ouellette wants to throw his hat into the Speaker’s race as well (though I’m not sure a rookie is best suited for the role).

One thought on “Roundup: A plea without merit”

  1. Paulson has always appeared to me like a Fantino wanna be. Paulson is highly tainted from the Harper Regime where he did what he was told all too gladly. Time to replace him he is not on the same page as the current government and a liability.

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