Emergency wiretap law struck down by Supreme Court of Canada
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has declared emergency wiretapping without a warrant unconstitutional, opening the door for Parliament to draft a new federal law that better safeguards an individual’s privacy rights.
The decision comes after the court dismissed the appeal of a group of B.C. men who were involved in the kidnapping of a convicted drug lord. They had argued that their charter rights were violated by the interception of their private phone calls through police wiretaps.
The country’s top court said police have an obligation to “give notice to intercepted parties” in the form of a court-issued warrant.
This would “enhance the ability of targeted individuals to identify and challenge invasions to their privacy and seek meaningful remedies,” according to the judgment released Friday.
Until now, police have been able to use wiretaps without a warrant if they believe there is an urgent need in order to prevent an unlawful act that would cause serious harm, and if judicial authorization cannot be quickly obtained.
The court said it would suspend its declaration of the law’s invalidity for 12 months “to afford Parliament the time needed to examine and redraft the provision.”
The ruling centres around the case of a B.C. man who was held and tortured for 25 days in 2006 by a group of other men. They also kidnapped his wife and friend from Peter Li’s Burnaby home.
Yat Fung Albert Tse, Nhan Trong Ly, Daniel Luis Soux, Myles Alexander Vandrick and Viet Bac Nguyen were found guilty in 2010 of extortion, kidnapping and unlawful confinement.
Huong Dac Doan was found guilty of unlawful confinement and extortion but not guilty of kidnapping.
The men received sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years.
Tse and Nguyen were leaders of the kidnapping and received 18 years.
Wiretap law struck down by Supreme Court of Canada | News | National Post
