Police would gain new powers to intercept mail in transit under a bill introduced Tuesday by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.The bill repeals privacy protections at the post office that date from Confederation, per Blacklock’s Reporter. “We need to ensure Canada’s law enforcement is equipped with the tools they need to stay ahead of organized crime groups and crack down on illicit activities,” Anandasangaree told reporters.“This is essential to maintaining the safety and security of our country.”“Are you concerned at all about the civil liberties of Canadians?” asked a reporter.“Look, I’ve worked my entire life in the protection of human rights and civil liberties,” replied Anandasangaree, former general counsel for the Canadian Tamil Congress..Bill C-2 An Act Respecting Certain Measures Relating To The Security Of The Border amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to allow police to open mail in transit. Currently police must track suspicious letters and packages to delivery, a requirement that’s seen RCMP pose as mail carriers and courier drivers in sting operations, according to evidence filed in the Ontario Court of Appeal.“Even with a search warrant we can’t seize packages going through the mail,” Mario Hamel, then-president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, testified at 2018 hearings of the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee.Anandasangaree on Tuesday said police needed new powers.“Searches through Canada Post can determine if there are illegal goods coming in,” he said.“It needed to have the safeguards in place. It had to be line with the values of the Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. I fundamentally believe we have struck the balance.”The provision is similar to a private Conservative bill that lapsed in the Senate last year, S-256 An Act To Amend The Canada Post Corporation Act. ."Traffickers have spread the word that there is much less risk of their packages being intercepted if they send them through Canada Post rather than through any other private courier company,” Sen. Claude Carignan, sponsor of S-256, earlier told the Senate.“This bill will finally close the loophole that traffickers have been exploiting in the Canada Post Corporation Act,” said Carignan.“This loophole, which only applies to items sent by Canada Post and not through other courier companies, means that traffickers prefer to do business with Canada Post because they know that this law deprives the police of their usual legal means of seizing, opening or tracking items containing lethal drugs.”The original 1867 Post Office Act guaranteed security of all mail in transit under threat of five years’ imprisonment.“Narcotics trafficking by mail is certainly a growing problem,” Yves Goupil, then-director of the RCMP’s federal policing of criminal operations, testified at 2018 Senate committee hearings.“It’s not just cannabis. Trafficking in fentanyl is a huge concern for us.”“Everything that happens on the dark web, where sellers are peddling all kinds of substances, it’s like a drug store,” said Goupil.“It’s a very significant challenge, I admit. The volume is huge. So, we have to make some choices and decide what our priorities are.”
