Mr. Speaker, doubtless we need to ensure that there are adequate safeguards to protect someone's right to privacy. Within the proposed legislation, there is an obligation on the law officer or agency to inform a person who, for example, has had their phone line tapped, within 90 days I believe. We are open to hearing what the stakeholders have to say on that.
Everything depends on the need. There is no doubt that section 184.4 is needed, but safeguards are also needed. That is what we are really asking for.
In the vast majority of situations, a court order could be obtained. This section would be used rarely and I suspect that normal procedures would be followed. However, when it is a matter of minutes or possibly hours, having to go through a judge could put someone's life in danger. Therefore, as one judge ruled, sometimes we have to forego a bit of privacy to save that life for the public good, as long as there is some check or balance in place to ensure that there is a safeguard against our going overboard. There would be a great deal of merit in tracking how often it is used year over year, as we go forward.
We will have to wait and see, but I do believe that section 184.4 would allow our police officers to do what they believe is necessary to save a life. If going to court to get a warrant is required, section 184.4 would allow them to take that shortcut, which I suspect would be used very rarely.