Law Commons^™

Government Surveillance Accountability: The Failures Of Contemporary Canadian Interception Reports, Christopher Parsons, Adam Molnar

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Real time electronic government surveillance is recognized as amongst the most intrusive types of government activity upon private citizens’ lives. There are usually stringent warranting practices that must be met prior to law enforcement or security agencies engaging in such domestic surveillance. In Canada, federal and provincial governments must report annually on these practices when they are conducted by law enforcement or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, disclosing how often such warrants are sought and granted, the types of crimes such surveillance is directed towards, and the efficacy of such surveillance in being used as evidence and securing convictions.

This …

Review Essay: Sara M. Smyth, Cybercrime In Canadian Criminal Law, 2nd Edition (Toronton: Carswell, 2015), Christopher D. Ram

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Dr. Smyth’s book is ambitious in its scope, seeking to trace the criminology and evolution of information technologies and cybercrime as the basis of current Canadian legislation and jurisprudence. It is intended as a concise student reference text or resource for those who are new to the subject area, studying in criminology and other areas, as opposed to law. A list of concepts and issues for discussion appears at the conclusion of each chapter and there is a glossary of technical (but not legal) terms at the end of the book. It takes a neutral and professorial approach, seeking to …

Big Brother's Shadow: Decline In Reported Use Of Electronic Surveillance By Canadian Federal Law Enforcement, Nicholas Koutros, Julien Demers

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Despite popular perception of increased government surveillance, particularly since 9/11, a longitudinal study of the Annual Reports on the Use of Electronic Surveillance, published by Public Safety Canada between 1973 and 2011, demonstrates the opposite trend. This article first outlines this decline to situate the use of electronic surveillance by federal law enforcement. The second section of the article advances legal, political, and practical influences which are likely contributing to the diminished use of wiretapping by police. The purpose of this article is to present quantitative evidence to better inform the ongoing debate around extending “lawful access” regimes in Canada. …

La Preuve, Les Techniques Modernes Et Le Respect Des Valeurs Fondamentales, Wafe Maclauchlan

Dalhousie Law Journal

In La preuve, les techniques modernes et le respect des valeurs fondamentales, Professor Pierre Patenaude has produced a scholarly and practical inquiry into the question of how law responds to science. This book raises questions of the gathering, the admissibility and the reliability of evidence through modem techniques such as electronic surveillance, breathalyzer tests, lie detectors, radar, the administration of truthinducing drugs, and hypnosis. It combines a thoughtful examination of values underlying the law of evidence with an introduction to the complexities and the frailities of scientific investigative techniques.