Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about this statute, which is one of the most important statutes we have to regulate the interaction between individual citizens and their government. The Privacy Act was great for the 1980s, but much has changed since

Justice committee  Well certainly, and they need to think about that. But this amendment would gut any liability that might exist contractually. So I think proper decisions are made when you have all the different interests in your mind.

Justice committee  The legislation is intimately connected. The three-quarters of this bill that we have in front of us relates to, in most cases, telecommunication service providers handing over information to the police and the circumstances under which the police can request it and demand it, an

Justice committee  It's always difficult to talk about hypotheticals with only a limited set of facts.

Justice committee  No. I would say that they acted in good faith and they wouldn't be liable, but I wouldn't grant them immunity.

Justice committee  I do.

Justice committee  In the scenario you have described, the image is just about to be widely propagated, causing—

Justice committee  It is believed to be. It highlights that it is a very difficult situation. Probably civil liability wouldn't be top of mind. Let's just say it's an anonymous Internet service provider rather than naming any particular names. They probably don't want to be dragged into a scena

Justice committee  In this scenario—again, I can only speak for myself—I believe there is a real harm attached to the dissemination of these sorts of images. I've seen first-hand the harm that they can do to a young person, and I've seen what they can do to an adult. My inclination would be to prov

Justice committee  I wouldn't grant them immunity.

Justice committee  Certainly. Walking down the street exposes one to a lawsuit. There is a difference between not being liable and having immunity. Immunity is a blanket, saying that no matter what you do, nobody can raise an issue.

Justice committee  Certainly at any moment there are going to be a whole bunch of considerations. But where I'm coming from, and I want to make sure that I'm clear, is that the reason you have the possibility of liability is because somebody else's interest is at stake and somebody else could be ha

Justice committee  No you're not, for two reasons. First—

Justice committee  Coerced: I wouldn't call that consensual.

Justice committee  Okay. That will be a challenge. You're comparing apples to oranges in this scenario. They're very, very different situations. You're also asking me to comment on a very specific example when in fact that police officer would have reasonable and probable grounds to go to a judge