Public Safety minister speaks on lawful access consultation

Michael Geist has posted a summary of interviews with him and Public Safety Minister on the CBC yesterday. He writes:

Michael Geist - Stockwell Speaks

Search Engine, CBC's excellent new show on the Internet and technology, focused this week [MP3 podcast] on recent lawful access controversy. I appear in the first part of the show, but more important is the response from Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. Leaving aside the Minister's inaccurate claims that the consultation was been "wide open" and the suggestion that perhaps the consultation was old Liberal wording, it is good to hear him again confirm that the government will not introduce legislation compelling the disclosure of CNA information without a court order. According to the Public Safety Minister:

"We are not, in any way, shape or form, wanting extra powers to police to pursue items without a warrant. That is not what our purported legislation is going to be doing. That is previous Liberal legislation and that's not the path we're walking down at all."

This is both a clear confirmation of the government's position and a good indicator that it smartly intends to use this to score political points by emphasizing the Liberals' support for disclosure without court oversight.