Public Safety minister says warrants required for customer names and numbers

This is interesting and weird ... Stockwell Day appears to say that he agrees that law enforcement access to customer names and numbers requires a warrant today and should always. [Insert head scratch here.]

Check it out yourself:

Warrant needed to pull data on Internet users: Day Safety minister opens closed consultations

Carly Weeks

The Ottawa Citizen

Friday, September 14, 2007

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced late yesterday that the federal government will not force Internet service providers to hand over customers' personal information to police without a warrant -- a move that will surprise critics who have been expressing alarm this week that the Harper government appeared poised to intrude on the civil liberties of Canadians.

"We have not and we will not be proposing legislation to grant police the power to get information from Internet companies without a warrant. That's never been a proposal," Mr. Day said. "It may make some investigations more difficult, but our expectation is rights to our privacy are such that we do not plan, nor will we have in place, something that would allow the police to get that information."

...

Mr. Day said the consultation document was circulated without his knowledge or consent and emphasized that all groups, regardless of their perspective, should have a chance to voice their opinions on the contentious issue.

"That document never would have gone out if I had seen it," Mr. Day said. "This particular document just somehow went out without my approval."

...

But, Mr. Day added, the purpose of the consultation is not to look for ways to make it easier for police to obtain customers' personal information without a warrant. Instead, the federal consultation is seeking to ensure Internet companies are aware of their need to comply when presented with court orders, Mr. Day said. ...