Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 13:52:51 -0500
>From: sross@CRAFT.CAMP.CLARKSON.EDU(SUSAN M. ROSS)
Subject: File 3--Electronic Privacy and Canadian Law

Recently in Canada, a cellular conversation between governmental
officials was recorded and the transcript given to a radio station
that scheduled a special program to air its contents. It dealt with
issues related to the recent constitutional referendum in Canada.
Although it has been ruled in Quebec that users of cellular phones
have no legitimate expectation of privacy, one of the officials got an
injunction (in Quebec) on the basis that broadcasting or publishing
the conversation would cause irreparable harm to intergovernmental
affairs. However, quotes were published by a newspaper in another
province.  Then, a member of an academic list dedicated to Canadian
issues, posted (from the U.S.) a news story on the issue, including
quotes. List members are from the U.S., Canada (in and outside Quebec)
and elsewhere. The list owner and "home" mainframe are Quebec-based.
So, the list owner shut down operations for about a day, consulted
with lawyers, and reopened the list with a request that members not
post quotes from the transcript while the injunction stood. (The
listowner, by choice, does not pre-monitor postings.) Soon the
injunction was lifted because the content of the transcript was so
readily available that the judge believed the injunction wasn't doing
any good.

It appears that, in spite of the freedom of expression clause in the
Canadian Charter (Section 2-b that says everyone has freedom of
expression...in the press...and other media of communication), there
was a question whether laws in the criminal code, which may set limits
on expression "demonstrably justified in a free society" (Canadian
Charter, Section 1) applied to such electronic discussion groups.
Without actually contacting lawyers, I don't think I'll be able to
figure out whether the fact that Quebec hasn't ratified the Canadian
Charter was also at issue. Please note that *I am not a lawyer.*

If anybody has additional information on this case, perhaps they could
forward it along.

Susan Ross
Dept. of Tech. Comms.
Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York 13699-5760
sross@craft.camp.clarkson.edu

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