That is a very complicated issue involving two extremely legitimate but conflicting interests.
The issue has come up in the case of Apple, but it could just as easily come up in Canada. The specific issue has to do with companies like Apple that produce telephones and computers where data are encrypted.
On the one hand, encryption is extremely important in protecting personal information.
On the other hand, private companies obviously have to be subject to the law. This case has to do with producers of telephones and companies that provide communication services. These companies are governed by law. Ultimately, the law applies to them.
Legislators need to ask themselves a fundamental question about law enforcement bodies. In this case we are talking about Apple versus the FBI, but we could be talking about Canada's police forces or Parliament. In practical terms, if law enforcement bodies want access to information that is encrypted and difficult for them to access, the law could cover that. Is it a good idea to have a law to force companies to decrypt information if that removes protection that is generally essential to people?
It is a complex issue. We need to be very careful before we go ahead and legislate on such issues.