Thank you for that question, Chair.
Mr. Chair, I fear there has been an evolution around this type of online behaviour that we all know is very cowardly. That stems from the anonymity of the activity that takes place online. Criminals can take advantage of the mask that exists on the Internet. The investigative powers of the Criminal Code need to be modernized to address that fact and to facilitate the investigation of criminal activity that involves this type of electronic communication.
This is, to coin a phrase, the modern Lord of the Flies, where there can be a group mentality that results in the type of sustained bullying of an individual, young or old, that can have an absolutely life-altering and sometimes life-ending effect. Allan Hubley's comments are not only relevant but also very poignant, given the situation that he and his family found themselves in.
The Criminal Code already has a variety of tools for accessing information. This bill allows for production orders, interceptions, authorizations, and search warrants. But most of the tools that are in the code now were put in place in the 1990s. That's the last time we had a modernization. That was before cell phones, the Internet, and hand-held devices were so common. The explosion of online activity is well known to all.
Not only are we falling back but we are out of step with other modern countries that have already moved in this direction. So I would suggest there is urgency, as I mentioned. Even the latest additions we've made around production orders and certain tools that are to be made available to police, go back almost 10 years, to 2004.
Existing tools, I suggest, are inadequate. They weren't put in place with this type of electronic world in which we now live in mind, where digital evidence is often volatile and crucial to pursue and prosecute cases, and to respond at the speed of light. When somebody presses a button on a device, it can literally go around the world quickly. So these practical amendments and this forward-looking legislation, I suggest, are absolutely crucial in our effort to keep people safe.