Are Councilors about to Violate the Criminal Code of Canada?

Email from a resident of Caledonia - Aug. 7, 2007

Madam Mayor and Council, 

Unfortunately I could not attend today’s meeting as my 101 year old Mother is very ill in Kitchener and I am forced to attend to her rather than the sorry mess in Haldimand County .

Up until today I thought I lived in a democratic society where free speech and the voice of the citizens of this country were sacred. Unfortunately today I believe that democracy as we have grown up to know it has ceased to exist. In fact when it comes to Haldimand County I believe we have entered a period of totalitarian rule where the voice of the people is silenced and an elected Mayor is terrorized by the very Council and staff that in effect work for her.

<>You gentlemen, and I use that word facetiously, are playing with fire with this resolution you are trying to ram down the throats of the taxpayers of Haldimand County . The Mayor was duly elected by the taxpayers of this County to represent them as their CEO and Head of Council. You are in effect trying to neuter the Mayor’s role by usurping her relationship with her constituents from her. You are not attacking the Mayor, you are attacking the very people you are supposed to represent by attacking their duly elected Mayor. 

If you are not hearing from your constituents in your wards you might want to take a look at yourselves and not the Mayor. At the same time if I communicate with the Mayor it is because I want to interact with her and not you.

<>The first time you become privy to an email or letter anyone sends privately to the Mayor, the County will be in a position to be sued for invasion of privacy. You Mr. Sloat and those of you on Council who intend to vote “Yes” for the resolution to force the Mayor to share all emails and correspondence with you and staff should be personally held liable for invasion of privacy. 

You may or may not be aware but Part VI of Bill C-46 Invasion of Privacy in the Criminal Code of Canada could easily be used to prosecute any attempt to intercept emails sent to the Mayor. In case you are not familiar with this section of the Criminal Code I will include the link here for you http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/c-46/bo-ga:l_VI//en#anchorbo-ga:l_VI . Before you vote “Yes” to this resolution you may want to take a look at this piece of legislation in the Criminal Code. To help you understand this section of the Criminal Code read the following:

<>·        “private communication" means any oral communication, or any telecommunication (I would suggest this can include emails), that is made by an originator who is in Canada or is intended by the originator to be received by a person who is in Canada and that is made under circumstances in which it is reasonable for the originator to expect that it will not be intercepted by any person other than the person intended by the originator to receive it, and includes any radio-based telephone communication that is treated electronically or otherwise for the purpose of preventing intelligible reception by any person other than the person intended by the originator to receive it;” 

·        “184. (1) Every one who, by means of any electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, wilfully intercepts a private communication is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.”

<>·        “184.2 (1) A person may intercept, by means of any electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, a private communication where either the originator of the private communication or the person intended by the originator to receive it has consented to the interception and an authorization has been obtained pursuant to subsection (3).” 

You see gentlemen this has nothing to do with the Mayor but rather has everything to do with the protection of the privacy of the residents of this County. Would you like to test this law in court?